Lost Magic
by Calming Blizzard
Summary: A HarryXCedric story. A mysterious chamber, lost magic, and love, Harry and Cedric fall in love with one and other but before they did Harry was in a strange chamber, now all he can think about is who was in there
1. Chapter 1

_**TAR-DAR! A new story for y'all, hope you enjoy reading it, I don't own Harry Potter, or anything in the series, the only thing I own is my O'C's :)**_

_**Too Much**_

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A cool breeze was blowing through the bedroom, inside was four poster beds all around in a circle, the crimson flowed through each bed, long curtains hung down from the beds, enabling privacy for each boy inside. The blankets were pulled up to the top, again the blankets were a deep red, the bed sheet itself was a snowy white as was the pillows. The room was perfectly clean, the end of the term was only three weeks away and everyone was humming with excitement, people would have started packing now if it weren't for the lessons still taking place, but everyone knew they were there to check that everyone was ready for next year. There was also brown trunks at the end of all the beds, some were more faded then others as they were family heirlooms. The room had a small stove in the middle of it, with pairs of socks lying on the railing next to it, to keep them warm and toasty for those who needed them, their was windows in between each bed, they open outwards to allow air to circulate inside and for more personal owls to arrive, although this was strictly forbidden people still did it.

Right now a young boy with black, raven hair was sat by a window, looking outside it, seeing the black lake and wondering what was inside it, hiding in its murky depths, he turned to see the forbidden forest, he didn't need to think about what was in there, he'd already been there every single year he'd been at Hogwarts, he thought back to his most recent adventure into there, meeting Sirius Black, the man who he thought traded his parents for the Dark Mark, but when he was given the chance to talk, Harry had found that in fact the man who betrayed his parents was Peter Pettigrew and that Sirius was actually his godfather, and in that one moment everything seemed to going well for Harry Sirius would be free and take Harry away from the Dursley's, the man who was responsible for his parents death, would be brought to justice but it all failed. Harry looked over to the Whomping Willow where he remembered being terrified at Remus Lupin's transformation into a werewolf, this allowed Peter Pettigrew to get away, and thus stealing Harry of his chance of ever leaving the Dursley's.

He moved away from the window, done with remembering the past events of this year, he always did this because he wanted to try and remember the beauty that was Hogwarts, as Uncle Vernon always tried to make him forget, it wasn't through anything physical but the verbal abuse did sting, especially when it was your family. He walked away from the window, smoothing out his pale blue jacket which he hadn't changed from Lupin's transformation, still in shock about it all. He looked down at his grey shirt, again pale and faded blue jeans and thought he should change out them but that thought was vetoed as tomorrow he'd be in his robes again and thought they'd be washed before he got back, Dobby would probably do that, he liked the little house elf, which is what mainly lead him to helping free him from Lucius Malfoy, plus he wanted to annoy Draco.

He walked over to the trunk at the bottom of his bed, and pulled it open, he looked down at the sad contents, most people he shared this room with, they filled their trunks with things they couldn't live without, photos of family and home, Harry had no such luxury, he looked down to see a cloak, which helped him more times than he cared to count, there was also some textbooks inside but they weren't what he was looking for, it was a picture, the only picture he owned of his parents. He stared at his father spinning in the air and then putting her down, ready for the picture, Harry wondered who was taking the picture, maybe it was one of the Marauders? Well it was either Remus or Sirius, Harry didn't even entertain the thought it was Peter who had taken, 'I don't know what I'd do with the picture then' Harry thought to himself, as if it was any other picture taken by that rat bastard, he'd have burnt it to a crisp, but this, this was the only picture he had of his mum and dad.

The door opened behind him, but he was still inside his own world, thinking about all that had happened and what was going to happen now. Another boy who lived in this room came in, he had bright red hair, with freckles on his face, he was solemn in his duty of checking up on his best friend, he shuffled awkwardly in his clothes which felt more like an art display as at least one piece of clothing came from another brother, thankfully none of it came from his sister. He stilled himself thought if he could just turn around and wait for Harry to come down in his own time, sure he'd get such a bollocking off Hermione but he felt as if he was intruding on something private. That thought disappeared when he heard his friend let out a silent sob, Ron didn't know whether this was the right thing to do, but it felt right. He walked confidently over to his bed, stomping his feet on the floor to make sure he was heard. Harry placed the photo back in the trunk, shut the lid and walked quickly over to the window again, hoping his friend hadn't seen him cry.

Ron got to his bed and just didn't know where to go from their, should he comfort his friend? Should he hug him? He was comfortable in his sexuality to hug another man, but was it right for Harry at the moment, thinking he should start slow, Ron begun a weak conversation hoping to work his way up to how Harry was doing "So that potions exam on friday was pretty dumb, wasn't it?" he said, looking up from his bed to see if Harry had turned around, he hadn't

"Yeah I suppose it was dumb" Harry said blandly, removing his glasses, wiping away the tears

"And what about Snape-" Ron quit half way through what he was going to say, knowing very much Snape was there when it all went off, and what Harry had to do to get a chance to talk with Sirius and Lupin. Harry took a deep breath knowing that Ron didn't know what to say, to be fair Harry didn't know what he wanted him to say

"Ron?" Harry asked with his back still to him

"Yes mate?" Ron asked sheepishly, worried that he was going to get yelled at from Hermione and now Harry

"I know you're trying to help me, but right now I just need some space from people" Harry said staring out the window, which somehow made it easier to ask his friend to leave him

"I'm worried about you, that was a lot for anyone to handle Harry" Ron said walking over now to Harry's bed, hoping to be closer to him

"I'm trying to handle it in my own way" Harry said, holding back the sobs

"Harry, you don't have to handle this alone, you know?" Ron said, knowing that Harry needed to space, he placed a hand on Harry's shoulder, gave it a squeeze and walked from the room.

Still stood by the window, Harry just stayed there afraid to move as if that was holding in the tear which now wanted to break free. He walked back over to his trunk, thinking about taking out a book or something to distract his mind from this rage, but nothing seemed right so he moved for his bed and laid down, he tried to fall asleep hoping that in his sleep, the pain would leave him like some sort of illness.

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Ron continued walking down the steps to see Hermione sat by the table which was close to the doorway to the boys dormitory. His eyes were met by the Gryffindor common room. It had many windows all around as it was held inside one of the many towers inside Hogwarts, the window were by the chairs closest to the fireplace and then some by the table in which Hermione was sat at. The windows by the table were of normal size and didn't seem to grand but the ones by the fireplace were ones of decoration as they were much larger than their other windows. The fireplace held a bright fire inside its mouth, which had a few people nearby as the weather was unusually still cold, maybe because of all the dementors hanging around the school, nearly all had been sent away, but a few still remained checking for Sirius Black, soon they'd all be gone. Above the fireplace was a clock, purely gold, people were worried about it being stolen by people but thanks to some enchantments the clock was secured to the wall, never to be removed unless the enchantments were broken. The chairs which dotted around by the window close to the the fireplace they were made of soft red cushiony fabrics, they was thick oak chair legs to uphold the chair, the same goes for the sofa, same fabric and oak legs, the only difference was there was some cushions for added comfort. The table in which Hermione was a large wooden table with matching wooden chairs, this was a desk in which the students could do their work, the only other thing inside the common room was the numerous paintings all along the walls, it was weird that these paintings were all still, none of them were animated, they were many different types of paintings, some were of landscapes and places around the school, but there was also portraits of famous witches and wizards who lived in Gryffindor, but the most prominent portraits were of Professor McGonagall and Professor Dumbledore, both of which were hung next to the clock above the fire place. Professor McGonagall was above the fireplace as she was the currant head of house for Gryffindor but no one was really sure as to why Dumbledore was there, the main theory was because he was the only one who He-who-must-not-be-named feared.

Ron walked over to the wooden table and sat across from Hermione, she sat more upright anticipating his answer, Ron couldn't look her in the eye, he stared down to his red shirt and blue jeans. Hermione just slouched in her chair, feeling defeated, she would have gone up there herself, girls were allowed to enter the boys dormitory, however not vice versa, but she didn't think she could achieve anything else, she looked down at her hands which were shaking slightly, as she was worrying for her friend who was upstairs, maybe she could help him if she knew a bit more about what went off upstairs "How is he Ron?" She asked looking outside the window, her voice a whisper

"Still the same" Ron answered, his voice was quiet too

"Did he say anything?" Hermione asked, getting more worried

"Just that he was okay and he wanted some space" Ron said still looking down, away from Hermione

"Maybe if I went to go talk to him?" Hermione asked dragging her eyes away from the window

"I think we should try and talk to him together but I think he needs some food, he hasn't been eating much" Ron said, already standing up, he hated not knowing how to help Harry and wanted to try and do something, anything.

"Yeah I suppose you're right" Hermione gathered herself and they both walked over to the door.

They left through the door which was hidden by the portrait, known as the fat lady, it hit Ron that they never really asked about how the portraits and paintings moved, he supposed it was some spell, it was useful, the occupants of the painting could move painting to painting, which helped search for things, 'Or people' Ron thought thinking back to the events of this year.

The walk down to the main hall was a blur, people rushing past and knocking into Ron and Hermione, everyone went around their business, Sirius Black was again on the move and everyone felt safe, thinking a murderer had left their midst, if only they knew that actually a murderer had been with them for two years, in the form of Ron's rat.

They both turned to see the grand hall, the many vast windows on each side of the room and the largest one at the end of the hall, behind the teachers table. There wasn't many people in the hall, off outside, Ron couldn't blame them, being trapped inside this hall much have felt like torture. He walked in with his head held low, he looked around and saw Professor's Dumbledore, McGonagall and Sprout, he saw some students dotted around, nearly no one was from Gryffindor, Neville was eating some food along with Dean but Ron and Hermione didn't feeling like sitting and talking. Dumbledore looked at Ron and Hermione and nodded to them, he understood Harry was still hurting, Professor McGonagall saw them and begun to walk down to them 'Great' Ron thought, first he was a useless friend and now a useless student "Mr Weasley, Miss Granger?" Professor McGonagall asked, her robes were billowing behind her as she walked closer

"Yes miss?" They both said, rather than asked, with a dull tone to their voice

"Remember your transfiguration homework for tomorrow" She said, still remaining first and foremost their Transfiguration teacher

"We will miss" Again they both said

"Make sure you eat something, all of you" She said and walked off, throwing a concerning glance at them.

They understood what she meant, and she was right, how could they tell Harry to eat when they weren't. Hermione reached for a pile of eggs, golden with a hint of butter, she made a pile of both of their plates and them gathered some buttered toast for them. Ron ate his food without a thank you, just wanting to get back to Harry, Hermione was afraid to eat, feeling bad, here she was eating some delicious food whist their best friend was in his room, just having had his own world turned upside down, Ron knew how she felt, feeling just the same "Hermione, McGonagll was right we all need to eat" he said shovelling some food into his mouth

"I know, but I just feel so bad for him" she said, finally picking up her fork, Ron didn't say anything, only nodding to her, to acknowledge she'd said something.

They'd finished eating and wrapped up some toast in a napkin for Harry to eat, they were getting ready to leave when someone from Hufflepuff came walking up to them, they would have thought they were trying to get past them if he didn't shout for them "Hey!" they both turned to see a man with grey eyes, and thick hair come running over to them

"Um hi?" Hermione said hoping to get moving, they both turned around again, wanting to leave, however this Hufflepuff student had other ideas

"You guys okay?" He said, hoping to get them to talk

"Yeah we're good" Ron said, starting to get a little annoyed

"Where's Harry?" He said, soon regretting it

"What's it to you" Ron growled, getting ready to storm off

"Sorry I just-"

"Just what? Just you're nosey? Just you want the latest scoop on Harry Potter!" Ron yelled at him, everything in the hall seemed to stop and go quiet, Ron stormed off, Hermione wanted to stay and say sorry but she felt like this was deserved as they all wanted to know everything about Harry Potter

"Wait" The Hufflepuff man stopped her, she turned to see him, red in the face and awkwardly shuffling with his bag "I didn't mean to upset you guys, I wanted to check to see if Harry was okay, he's not been down in the hall"

"How would you know whether Harry's been in the hall or not?" Hermione asked, starting to feel Ron had the right idea about leaving, the Hufflepuff man went even more red faced

"I suppose you don't believe me, thinking I want to sell his story to Rita Skeeter or some other low life, but I don't, if its okay, could you tell Harry, he can owl me, if he needs to" he went to walk away, thinking he'd caused enough damage

"Stop" Hermione's time to say for him to stay "How can I tell him to owl you, if I don't know who you are?" she said, thinking she'd mention it anyway

"Oh sorry, my names Cedric Diggory and I'm in my fifth year here" he smiled, Hermione shot him a smile back "I'll let you go, but tell that red head guy, that I didn't mean to upset him or Harry"

"Sure, I will" she said, feeling a little better after talking with this Cedric.

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Harry was still by the window, nothing had changed, he still wanted to sit there and cry his heart out, he'd never really been a fan of crying to deal with things, but this felt too much this time, just too much. His thoughts were interrupted when Ron came storming in, muttering about a someone, that much he gathered, he brought himself away from the thoughts which were sure to bring another tear to his eye and he walked over to Ron's bed where Ron was sat, still muttering about someone, who was kindly referred to as 'Bastard'.

"Ron , what's wrong?" Harry asked, knowing once Ron was in a frenzy, who know's what'll happen

"Nothing, mate, just some dick head" Ron growled, not angry at Harry but that bloody Hufflepuff

"You're not going to hit this 'Dick Head' are you?" Harry asked

"No, well, I don't think so, I know I wanted to punch him" Ron said finally starting to calm down

"What was it he did?" Harry asked, his curiosity beginning to peak, before Ron could speak though, Hermione had arrived, as ever as calm

"Well Ronald, he was asking about how Harry was" she said, slightly annoyed at Ron for storming off without giving the poor fellow a chance to explain

"Maybe he should have spoke up then" Ron snapped at Hermione

"You didn't give him a chance!" Hermione argued back. Harry didn't really want to be there for them arguing, so he quietly slipped out. He walked down the stone stairs and didn't stop till he was well and truly lost.

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Soon Harry felt like this wasn't such a hot idea, his legs hurt and he just wanted to sit down, he kept on walking though, thinking he was nearing somewhere he knew at least, but he wasn't, the light became weaker and weaker, he was thinking about soon, using his wand to generate some light. He turned a corner and saw some light, he ran down the corridor towards the light however, it didn't seem to be getting closer, only further away, 'Am I in some forbidden area?' Harry thought, thinking some sort enchantment was being used, he gave up and fell on the floor, he slouched against the wall, he wanted to get back to the dorm. He looked down both corridors to see if the light or any light was still there, he sighed, and continued walking, which his legs argued against but it was all he could do right now, he didn't want to feel any more useless then he already did.

The walk did him a little good, it gave him a chance to finally breathe, sure Hermione and Ron meant good but it all felt very awkward, maybe talking to this Hufflepuff might be good? Someone else to talk to, who wouldn't be arguing all the time, Harry chuckled a little at this, wondering when they were going to finally go out, what made him chuckle more was the fact that this corridor might be the end of him, this, not a troll or a giant snake, a bloody corridor.

He had his hand walking along the wall with him, the torches did very little too illuminate the way, he stopped when he felt a door handle, he quickly pulled himself to the doorway and felt around the door to see if there was anything to make of it, with all the doors in Hogwarts, the way they are made and what material can tell you what hides on the other side. He rubbed his hand down the door feeling a smooth surface and then knocked on the door a few times, from that he could tell it was a wooden door, he felt more like a dorm room door rather than something monstrous, but you could never tell with Hogwarts, he armed himself with his wand, took a deep breath and opened the door.

The room was pitch black but the smell of burning was still in the air, 'someone's put out some candles or torches in here' either way someone was trying to hide away from Harry, feeling the strength and courage of Godric Gryffindor flowing through him, he tried to gain the attention of whoever was in there

"Hello?" he said, his hands shaking slightly, he walked a little more forward but stopped when he heard a loud bang coming from a door being slammed shut, he turned around to see the entry door was shut, panicking, Harry shouted out "_Lumos!" _a beam of light appeared and Harry felt a little better, but in the shadows a voice called out "_Nox"_ and Harry wand blinked back into the dark, 'Okay now I'm scared'.

"Who are you" The voice asked, Harry heard movement, the owner of the voice was moving around the chamber

"I-I-I" Harry choked out

"Leave my chambers, now!" The voice snarled at Harry, he ran to the door, he heard it swing open, he charged through it, not looking back, he didn't even look back when he heard the large bang which signalled the door closing, but he continued charging down the hall, he didn't know why, but this time it felt like too much, too much going on in one year, if it had happened early he probably would have ran to Hermione and Ron and told them about the room, but he didn't he just ran, he knew he had gone far as the light rays of the grounds had hit him, he heard many people shouting to him 'Harry?', 'Harry!, 'Hey!' but he ignored them all and kept running to somewhere safe, Hagrid's, 'Not far, it's not far' when he reached the steps reaching down to his hut, but Harry hit a solid object

"Who the hell?" Harry said, annoyed, he looked up to see grey eyes and a handsome face looking down at him

"Harry?" The stranger's voice practically purred out

"S-Sorry have we met?" Harry asked, everything coming to him

"No we haven't but I wanted us to- Harry, Harry, what's wrong?" The stranger asked concern filling his throat, Harry had begun to swing back and forth, when he collapsed into the strangers hands, the last thing Harry heard before black consumed him, was the stranger's voice ringing out for him and a loud booming voice as well.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Chappie 2 is now here! Thank you to Charlie0925 for reviewing, much love! Hope you all enjoy it!**_

**_The dark chamber_**

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A small fire illuminates the hut, a mighty cauldron sitting atop the fire heating its contents of vegetables and some meat. All around is many trinkets and random cages, to any normal sized person it would feel cramped but to the giant, half-giant, who lived here it felt truly restricting, two men were sitting by the table, one was a tall man with a thick bushy beard and just as bushy hair, he had his coat slung over the back of the chair, many sounds and clicking is usually heard from the coat, from its many pockets but silence hung over the air like some vile smell. The other man was a Hufflepuff student, he had a worried look on his face.

"Where yer staying here?" The taller man asked, not wanting to be rude but still he wanted his answer

"I want to make sure Harry's okay" The younger man answered, he looked over to the person laying on the old sofa with a thick blanket draped over him, the younger man remembered what had happened earlier...

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"Harry!" Cedric called out, the raven haired boy had collapsed, he called out to him but to no avail, he didn't know what to do, he looked around for anyone to help, but everyone was already gone, he heard some loud pounding foot steps coming up behind him, he turned to see the grounds-keeper of Hogwarts, Rubeus Hagrid, he came over shouting about Harry

"What did yer do?!" Hagrid shouted at Cedric, his imposing figure towering over him

"I didn't do anything to him! He collapsed onto me!" Cedric called, trying to reason with the tall man, it seemed to work to an extent

"We need to get him to Madam Pomfrey" Hagrid bellowed

"I don't know, he seems just tried, maybe he needs some rest?" Cedric offered meekly

"What would yer know?" Hagrid asked, trying to keep his growls in place

"I don't know! I'm just guessing, maybe we get him all warm and then call for her?" Hagrid milled this over, trying to say something against it

"Alright, but if he gets worse, it'll be your fault" Hagrid turned to walk to his hut, signalling for Cedric to follow him whilst carrying Harry, Cedric thought more about what Hagrid said and to him it felt more like 'I'll kill you' rather than 'It'll be your fault'

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Madam Pomfrey had just left saying Cedric was right, earning a faint smile from Cedric and a faint growl from Hagrid, Harry was just tried and hungry and needed some rest. When she was due to leave Cedric asked her if he could stay with him.

"Why Mr Diggory?" She asked, quietly packing away her wand and some potions into a bag

"Because I just want to be there for him" He said, she turned to face him her face looking slightly annoyed at Cedric asking for the rest of the day off "I promise I will do double work tomorrow" her face unchanging "Please?" He begged in a last ditch attempt to stay with Harry

"Mr Diggory, I cannot support a student neglecting their studies' his face fell, but she continued "But I feel Harry needs a fellow student to help him, with Mr Hagrid's duties, someone should be here to stay with Harry"

"Thank you!" He beamed at her

"But I expect to hear you picked up your work from today from your professors" she added, now ready to leave

"I will, thank you again!

And here they were now, Hagrid sat across from him, and silence everywhere, Cedric didn't know what to say, Hagrid was here giving him daggers, finally giving in Cedric asked "Mr Hagrid is something wrong?"

"Yeah, you" Hagrid growled

"Why?" Cedric asked, wanting to understand why the tall man was so angry with him

"Because..." The man struggled to get his words out "Yer're just bad"

"Hello?" A voiced called out, Cedric and Hagrid both ran to Harry's side, the boy was so pale, his hair was all messed up and his voice was croaky

"Hold still Harry, I'll fetch you some water" Hagrid said, reaching for a tankard and some stone jug on the table

"Is there anything lighter to drink from?" Cedric asked Hagrid, he turned to him, threatening him with his eyes, it instantly got much more tense, but Hagrid gave in and sighed "Yeah, let me have a look" Hagrid went around the hut, he looked everywhere from under the table and then into every little cage "I think I'll go to the castle and ask for one, you need anything" Hagrid gestured to Cedric

"No, I'm fine thank you" Cedric said, a smile finding a way to his face, Hagrid stomped off mumbling about something but Cedric couldn't quite catch what he said

"Erm hi" Harry whispered to Cedric

"Hi" Cedric whispered back, his face looking at the floor, his face felt really hot, it felt right at the time to stay with Harry but right now it feels really awkward

"What happened?" Harry asked feeling groggy

"You fainted and I er carried you here"

"Where am I?" Harry questioned, he wanted to move the subject from the Hufflepuff carrying him

"You're in Mr Hagrid's hut" Harry giggled at the stranger, he found it funny that someone, anyone, was calling Hagrid, 'Mr Hagrid' even though that was how you were supposed to say his name, but still it was funny

"What? What's so funny?" Cedric inquired, the heat on his face was disappearing, he some how felt relaxed around Harry, soon Cedric joined in on the laughing.

"I haven't laughed in so long" Harry choked out between laughs, but he felt immediately guilty when he said it, and the dreaded question came next

"Why?" Cedric asked, concern on his face

"It's nothing" Harry quickly brushed off, avoiding eye contact with Cedric. The Hufflepuff went quiet, his face contorted in thought, he then said aloud "I'm failing Transfiguration"

"What?" Harry asked, wondering why he'd said that

"Well my O.W.L's are almost done but I still have Transfiguration to go and my revision is going so bad, I'm going to fail"

"What's going so wrong?" Harry asked, feeling more awake

"I always forget about the basic stuff" Cedric whispered feeling stupid

"Have you tried to go over it with anyone else?"

"I never ask anyone, I get too embarrassed" Harry begun to think, when he asked

"How come you told me then?"

"I thought if I shared what was upsetting me, you'd be more inclined to tell me what's upsetting you" Cedric looked down to the floor again 'Bloody heat'. Harry just went quiet, feeling guilty that someone was trying to help him when he knew he couldn't say anything about what was really going on 'My godfather, Sirius Black, isn't actually a serial killer but it's my best friends rat, Peter Pettigrew, who is actually alive and kicking'

From the outside talking could be heard, it seemed Hagrid was back and he'd brought Hermione and Ron with him, Harry smiled a little, he saw Cedric dusting himself off and reaching for his bag "Well I think I should leave you with your friends" Harry sat up "Woah, woah, stay still"

"I want to sit up" Harry said, feeling quite nervous all of a sudden, Cedric stepped back allowing Harry to sit up "Thank you- Hang on I never got your name"

"it's Cedric, Cedric Diggory"

"Nice to meet you Cedric, I'm Harry Potter" Harry outstretched a hand, shaking slightly. Cedric gladly took the offered hand and smiled to him, he felt like he was testing his luck when he asked "Has your friend told you about me? Well what I offered?"

"Oh, you're that person she was going to talk about" Harry said, finally finding out who Hermione and Ron were talking about, Cedric didn't ask about what Harry was talking about, only wanting to find out Harry's answer, Harry looked up to Cedric and said "Yeah I'd like to talk to someone else, I'll look for your owl" Cedric smile seemed to brighten up the whole hut

"Awesome! Alright, I'll speak to you later Harry!"

"Yeah, speak to you later Cedric" Harry felt really happy, he loved Ron and Hermione to pieces but it'd be nice to talk to people who weren't at each others throats. Cedric lingered next to Harry, without warning the door swung open to three very concerned faces, two became angry when they saw Cedric, but they couldn't stop him from smiling "Don't worry I'm just going" and with that Cedric was gone

"God that prick..." Ron snarled

"Ronald, leave it alone!" Hermione nearly screamed, obviously annoyed, they more than likely kept arguing even after he left and then ended up in that chamber- that chamber! Harry's eyes widened in shock, there was that room and that voice

"Here you go Harry some nice stew" Hermione handed him a bowl filled with some delicious stew, he gave a quick thanks and begun to eat it, they all talked and had a great time but during it all Harry just couldn't forget about that room but more so, that voice.

Outside Cedric was nearly back at the castle, still a massive smile on his face, but it dimmed down once he realised what he almost did, he nearly kissed Harry Potter.

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Harry landed on his bed with a loud thud, Ron ran over to Harry, his face stricken with panic "Harry! Are you okay?"

"Yeah... Yeah, you heading to bed?" Harry asked, pulling himself up and changing into his pyjamas

"Nah, everyone's forgotten about that piece of Transfiguration homework so we're staying up to finish it, you?"

"I'm just going to stay up, read a book" Harry lied, he was waiting for Cedric's owl, it probably wouldn't come tonight, but Harry wanted to wait anyway

"Okay, well you're all settled and good?" Ron asked, his hands holding his robes awkwardly

"Yeah I'm good mate" Ron walked over to the door but he stopped when he reached the heater in the middle of the room, he lingered then turned to face Harry

"Look, I'm sorry for what happened with Sirius, and I'll er, be here if you need me mate" Ron said, rubbing the back of his head

"Ron there is something I want you to do for me" Ron walked over to the edge of Harry's bed

"Yes?"

"Could... Could you lay off Cedric?" Harry asked rubbing his arm, Ron's face nearly snapped when Harry asked him to leave Cedric alone "Ron he wasn't trying to sell me out or anything like that, he was trying to help" Ron opened his mouth to say something, but he couldn't when he saw Harry looking down

"Alright, I'll lay off him, I think I just went overdrive on him, if I see him I'll say sorry" Ron walked over, Harry shouted a 'Thank you' after him, he lay feeling better for some reason, Cedric somehow just made Harry feel so good inside

Harry always felt he was attracted to men, sure he found girls pretty or cute but boys just always did it for him, he hasn't told anyone about how his sexuality as he felt afraid after a conversation with Uncle Vernon Petunia which ended with them threatening Harry. He wondered if he liked Cedric, sure he was handsome but Harry preferred to date people based on personality rather than looks, maybe after they talked he would be able to decide, but right he didn't want to rule it out.

He was dragged from his thoughts when a soft tapping came at his window, Harry looked out to see a black owl with yellow, golden eyes, staring in, it kept tapping till Harry opened the window, the owl flew onto Harry's bed and kept looking around, Harry looked at its leg to see a note attached, he pulled the note away from the leg and read what it said

_Harry,_

_It's me, Cedric, thought I'd send you an owl to see how you are and if you're feeling better? If you're asleep, don't worry, I'll see you tomorrow at breakfast_

Harry held the note and smiled down at it, immediately feeling better, he grabbed a piece of parchment and wrote down

_Hi Cedric, its great to hear from you, yeah I'm okay, how are you? Is that Transfiguration still getting you down?_

He held the note in his hand, and attached it to the owl and opened the window, the black owl flew off immediately, but soon the owl come flying back

_Wow you're so funny, but yeah it's still getting me and in a few days from now, I'll be sitting the exam, that thing still getting you down? It's okay, you don't have to tell me what it is, I just want to make sure it isn't affecting you much. And yeah I'm okay, bored as hell though._

Harry sat down on his bed, again he couldn't tell Cedric about what was upsetting him, but one thing had started to upset him, the thought of going home, the Dursleys always made him feel like a freak, he lifted the quill and wrote

_Just some stuff, it's okay, don't worry about the exam, I know you can do it! And I'm pretty much the same, bored_

Harry grabbed the black owl's leg again and attached the note, before it flew, Harry reached for the treats he usually gave to Hedwig but he felt Jack deserved it, the owl hummed and flew off, when it returned a few moments later, Harry took the note from its leg and then it flew away, Harry looked out the window to see Jack headed towards the lower levels of the castle, he opened the note, which read

_Harry, its not too late, can I see you? If you want to too, meet me by the kitchens, if not then I'll see you tomorrow_

He read the note again and then again, he decided 'Why not?' he grabbed a jacket when he saw he was still in his pyjamas, he didn't really want to get changed again, so he grabbed his invisibility cloak and draped it over his body and begun to walk down, thankfully the common room was busy and he could get out without drawing any attention to himself.

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Harry arrived near the kitchens and removed the cloak, he was wearing a jacket so at least he didn't look completely stupid, but he was starting to feel it, he was stood outside the kitchens waiting for Cedric but he wasn't showing, Harry thought he wasn't coming, he got ready to wrap the cloak around him when the kitchen opened and a head appeared from a door nearby

"Harry!" Cedric nearly shouted with excitement, he gestured for Harry to come closer

"I almost went back to my room" Harry said quietly feeling guilty for internally cursing Cedric for leaving him there

"Sorry, but I can make up for it, look" He stepped aside to reveal an old classroom with a table in the table, two chairs and two mugs, hopefully filled with hot chocolate

"Cedric..."

"When I'm upset, I sometimes come here, it's an old classroom and no one ever comes in here, there's the kitchens nearby so I usually get a hot drink" Cedric walked over to the table and sat down, Harry followed him and did the same, it felt nice, it was like he was on a date

"Are you in your pyjamas?"

A date where you are in your pyjamas.

"When you invited me down I was sitting in bed" Harry fidgeted nervously, Cedric blushed, feeling just as nervous as he felt it looked like a date, oh how he wished it was

"So revision going well?" Harry asked, wanting to take his mind away from dating Cedric

"Transfiguration's still a bitch" Immediately Cedric tensed up "Sorry" he whispered, Harry didn't understand what was going on

"For what?" He questioned

"I swore and well you're young- Ow!" Cedric rubbed at his knee where Harry had just kicked him

"That'll teach you for treating me like I'm a kid"

"Well you are, and I am" Cedric laughed when Harry crossed his arms "Harry stop making me laugh!" Cedric choked out in between laughs. Cedric reached for his hot drink and begun to sip at his slowly, Harry just kept looking at his drink, unsure whether to drink it or not as the older people enjoyed coffee and Harry just didn't "It won't bite you know" Cedric said giggling a little

"I know, just still a little shocked you put this together for me" Harry muttered under his breath, he reached for the warm mug and pressed it to his lips, he enjoyed the warm hot chocolate and felt much better when the warmth spread through him. Harry sat there thinking about all Cedric's done for him, even though he hadn't known him long, so he felt he should at least try and repay him

"I don't think you have to worry about the Transfiguration, you seemed to done good so far" Harry said

"Well I don't think I can do it" Cedric mumbled. Harry sat there thinking about how he could prove it, he looked at his mug and an idea appeared

"Make this disappear" Harry gestured to the mug in front of him, Cedric jut sat there staring at Harry "Go on, I bet you can do it" Cedric stood up and whispered "_Evanesco" _Cedric jumped up into the air, getting ready to yell, but he remembered where he was and who he was with, he blushed a little at the thought of stupid he looked, Harry jumped up with him

"See I knew you could do it! Just keep calm and you'll do it" Harry reached for Cedric's hand and placed his hand atop Cedric's and rubbed gently, they both looked down to the touching hands, after a while Harry decided it was time he left "I think I need to be heading back to bed, got double Transfiguration tomorrow morning" he groaned, he loved Transfiguration but that didn't make it any less draining, Cedric laughed at his predicament

"I love Monday mornings" Cedric said while gathering the two mugs and fixing the one which was invisible

"Urgh, how could anyone" Harry begun walking with Cedric to the door

"I have no lessons till about 12 then lunch"

"You lucky bugger, I have a only one break tomorrow and that's after Transfiguration and then for the whole day I am busy as hell"

"Well maybe we could meet up again tomorrow, I mean unless you're busy" Cedric rubbed the back of his neck, feeling nervous again, Harry opened the door and said aloud

"I'll meet you at the grand hall, see you then" Harry walked out and threw the cloak over his shoulders and begun to walk back to the Gryffindor tower, Cedric leaned against the door and thought about how much he was failing for the younger boy and his heart swelled.

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"Can you two bloody quit with the arguing!" Harry shouted to Ron and Hermione, they both froze, in their positions of throwing food and yelling at each other "Come on guys, can we just have a peaceful breakfast" Harry rubbed the sides of his head

"Sorry" they both uttered and breakfast went quietly, but peacefully. Everyone looked up to see Professor Dumbledore heading towards them, moving quickly, Professor McGonagall was following him, but he stopped when he reached the Gryffindor table, she kept moving towards the doors and out them, everyone watched he leave but they brought to the front of the table when Dumbledore spoke "Those who has Professor McGonagall today, those lessons are cancelled" no one seemed to wonder why, they only cared they had the morning off, Harry opened his mouth to ask Professor Dumbledore why the lesson had been cancelled, but he moved too quickly for him and he was gone as well. Harry's eyes drifted over to the Hufflepuff table to see if Cedric was there, sadly he wasn't, more than likely he was in bed 'Lucky him' Harry thought

He didn't sleep much last night, sure it was fun hanging out with Cedric but that chamber still bothered him, he wanted to ask someone about it, first he thought about Dumbledore or a teacher but then that would lead to many questions about why he was down there and Harry didn't want the hassle. He then thought of Hagrid, but ever since Fluffy, Hagrid didn't talk much about Hogwarts, trying to keep Harry, Ron and Hermione safe.

Then it dawned on him, he got up said he would catch up with Ron and Hermione later, he headed towards the kitchens 'Who knows every nook and cranny in Hogwarts? Dobby!' Harry reached the painting of the large fruit and tickled the pear which squealed in delight, a door appeared to the side and Harry opened it and was thrust into a very hot room, not much was to be said about it, every time something was there, it was gone or replaced in a matter of seconds, the only thing constant in the kitchen was the house elves running around, Harry looked for one wearing brightly coloured socks, which Dobby loved to do.

"Mister Harry Potter!" A small voice shouted not too far away from Harry, Harry walked over to a small elf who was waving quite frantically at Harry, when he reached him, he saw he was wearing one neon green sock and a black one, more than likely the sock Harry had given him last year.

"Dobby!" Harry waved to Dobby who was not too busy, boiling potatoes for lunch

"What can Dobby do for Mister Harry Potter?"

"Dobby you know the castle better than anyone-"

"You honour Dobby with your words Mister Harry Potter!" Dobby bowed down low

"Dobby there's this chamber and well I wasn't sure of what was inside" Dobby was throwing all his attention to Harry but when he asked about the chamber, Dobby turned away and concentrating on the potatoes "Dobby?" Harry inquired

"Dobby doesn't know anything about a chamber" Dobby said quietly

"You remember what you promised me last year?" Harry said

"Yes, Mister Harry Potter asked Dobby to not save his... life... again" Dobby begun to understand what Harry was meaning

"Dobby I'll be fine, just don't lie to me, okay?" Harry asked

"Dobby doesn't know anything about the chamber, but he does know who does" Dobby said meekly, turning back to Harry but looking at the floor instead

"Who Dobby?"

"Another house elf, Ginger, she's over there" Dobby pointed to a house elf who was stood on top of a ladder which was right next to a pot , she sampled the inside with a large wooden spoon, she looked almost the same as Dobby but she looked less wrinkly, younger, Harry walked over to her, Dobby followed behind, trying to act confident

"Ginger?" Harry appealed to the little house elf, checking it was her

"Yes?" She stepped off the ladder and turned to Harry and Dobby, she spoke in a higher voice than Dobby's and she had an air of youth about her

"Dobby said you know of a secret chamber" Harry gestured to the house elf now hiding behind him, Ginger's eyes went huge and she screeched at Dobby

"How could you tell someone about the chamber!"

"Dobby didn't tell me about the chamber I stumbled across it"

"What? Oh dear! I must go!" Ginger ran to the door but Harry shouted after her

"Wait, please!" She at least stayed but she was fidgety, meaning she about to leave

"Ginger can trust this person, it is Mister Harry Potter!" Dobby spoke out from behind Harry's legs, Ginger stopped and looked at Harry then she walked up to him, jumped on top of a table and stared at his scar, she hopped back down and sighed "Trust Mister Harry Potter, he saved Dobby, maybe he can help!"

"Dobby shut up!" Ginger screeched again, she turned back to Harry and walked over to a chair, she gestured for Harry to sit down "I can't tell you about what or who's inside the chamber, it would be unfair, but I suggest you learn for yourself Mister Harry Potter" Ginger walked into the hub of the kitchen and Harry couldn't make her out anywhere, he got up and walked to the door

"Mister Harry Potter, where are you going?"

"I'm going to have another look at that chamber"


	3. Chapter 3

_**And time for a new character, I hope you all like him, I spent a few days sorting him out :) And thank you to Salmare, Cat187, Ailiseu and Anrieth for joining the pact ;)**_

_**Who are you? **_

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Harry was beginning to feel this wasn't such a great idea, sure Ginger said whatever or whoever's in the chamber, they're not dangerous, but how did Harry not know it didn't attack Ginger but Harry was just right for eating. And only Dobby knew he was coming down here, another mistake, jeez, this year he was being so reckless, he could go back, go find Hermione or Ron but something complied him to keep going.

He stood once again in front of the old door, he'd managed to find the room again thanks to his tried and tested move, getting throughly lost, and some how he managed to find the room again, maybe it was enchanted, or maybe it was just another one of those Hogwarts things. Harry knocked on the door, trying to be kind and not anger whatever was inside "Hello?" Harry called out, no answer.

He pushed the door open and peeked inside, again the smell of burning was in the air but no light, Harry again called out "Hello?" the door shut behind him and movement was being echoed around, Harry thought about taking his wand out but he thought it would make him look menacing, again, "Hello?", the movement around the room stopped and the voice growled out

"Who dares enter my chamber?"

"I just want to talk"

"Talk? I will not trade words with you" The door opened again "Leave" the sound of footsteps could be heard walking away from Harry

"No" the footsteps stopped

"Who do you think you are!" Harry begun to panic, wondering maybe he should have just left, he felt someone's breath on his neck, he tried to reach out for them but they were gone

"I promise I am only trying to sit and talk" No movement could be heard, he couldn't hear anything, maybe it left?

"You better not be lying" footsteps could be heard and then "_Incendio" _a great flame appeared, Harry was nearly blinded by the light, when his eyes had adjusted he spotted a fireplace and someone stood in front of it, a hood covering their hood, with their back to Harry. Harry looked around to see a dusty room, there was a few dull red chairs, they looked like the ones in the Gryffindor common room, that was all in the room, the walls were made of stone, along with the floor, the only other thing in the room is the fireplace, that looks more cleaner, but it was basic and simple, no trinkets or hints of a personal touch "Who are you" The person asked

"I'm Harry Potter" Harry said, feeling anxious

"Ah, so you're Harry Potter" The person walked away from the fireplace and stood by the red chairs, still not facing Harry

"So you've heard of me?" Harry inquired, he knew he was famous but would he be heard everywhere?

"I've heard snippets of who you are, but do you know who I am?"

"Um no..." Harry felt more anxious, if that were possible

"But you felt like you would seek out the freak in the chamber?"

"No I-"

"No, don't deny it, you only came here to find out this chamber" Harry's mouth opened to argue but he couldn't, the person was right, the secret of the chamber had been bugging him

"I'm sorry" Harry looked down at the ground ashamed at himself, the person sighed and sat down, the hood kept their face hidden, they gestured to the chair next to them, Harry at first didn't move, but he begun to move towards it, he sat down next to the person, he felt brave but scared as well

"I'm not used to being around people" the growling voice disappearing and a more calmer one appearing

"You sound different?" Harry said, trying to avoid the elephant in the room

"I've read many books and the big, scary guys, they always put on a majestic voice" the person laughed a deep laugh, Harry giggled with him

"Why do you live down here?"

"I'm not comfortable with talking about that, sorry" The person hung their head

"No, it okay, I understand" Harry said he was trying to talk to this person "Can I see your face?" Harry inquired, feeling more brave

"Yeah, yeah I suppose" the person pulled back the hood to reveal long chocolate hair, ending at his shoulders, he had his hair swept to the left hand side but it fell over his ears, he didn't have any stubble or beard, his skin was fair, and milky white, and his eyes, his blue eyes. Harry finally had the chance to see what the guy was wearing, his clothes looked like Harry's; he had a grey jacket on, some faded blue jeans and some black sneakers.

They sat there in silence, a huge barrier had been broken, this person had been growling at Harry, telling him to leave but here they were, talking like friends, well acquaintances, he couldn't wait to tell Ron, Hermione and Cedric. Cedric! Harry jumped up, scaring the person next to him

"What time is it?" Harry asked

"I think it's nine or ten"

"I need to get going, I'm meeting someone"

"Ah, good luck, and Harry, don't tell anyone of me down here, I'm not ready for the whole castle knowing about me, don't worry Dumbledore and the teachers know I'm here"

"Okay, would you mind if I came back?"

"Why?" the person looked up to him, genuine confusion on his face

"Well I'd like to get to know you, anyway I have to go, bye!"

"Harry!" the person shouted after him

"What?" turning back to him

"My name is Alexander" Harry smiled

"Nice to meet you Alexander!" He gave Harry a wave, got up and walked over to the fire

"Nice to meet you Harry" Harry walked out the door and felt pretty happy with himself, in such a short amount of time, he'd made two new friends.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Oh crap!" Cedric shouted, he decided to get up at half nine in order to have a shower and see Harry over breakfast but he rolled over and saw the clock read 'ten minutes past ten', Cedric got up and charged around his room trying to get ready, everyone else was at breakfast so at least he didn't look like an idiot scrambling around. When he finally got to the Grand Hall, he couldn't see Harry anywhere, he begun to worry, he saw Hermione and Ron coming down the stairs

"Shouldn't you guys be in Transfiguration?" Cedric questioned

"Lesson was called off" Hermione said, continuing to walk away from Cedric, Ron following her

"You guys seen Harry?" Cedric asked Hermione more than Ron as he knew he didn't really like him, for some unknown reason

"No, he said he'd meet us when he got back from where ever he went" Hermione said, stopping

"Oh, I think I'll have a look for him" Cedric said, Hermione raised an eyebrow at this but she didn't say anything

"We're headed down to Hagrid's hut" Hermione said

"She said we were going down to visit him but I know its too hand in homework early and to get some extra" Ron said, trying to be friendly to Cedric

"Don't over work him Hermione, he might blow up" Cedric said, they all shared a laugh, Hermione and Ron continued on their way, Cedric was about to walk away when Ron shouted for him, he turned around waiting for someone to start yelling at him

"Cedric, I'm sorry about giving you crap when you didn't deserve it" Cedric was going to say 'thank you' but Ron had already left, Cedric again tried to leave but someone came running up to him and flicked him on the back of the head

"Hey!" He turned to bite the person's head off but his face broke out into a smile "Cho!"

"Cedric! Ready to go?" Cho's smile brightened the hall

"Go?" Cedric's face contorted in confusion

"Remember we're going to the library?"

"Oh!" Cedric looked at the ground

"You forgot, didn't you?" Cho crossed her arms

"No, well yeah, I had you double booked with someone else"

"So? We'll all go together?" Cedric shifted his hands awkwardly, Cho's eyes went bigger "Oh! You meeting some one?" she put emphasis on the 'one'

"No it's not like that" Cho shot him a strange look "It's not, but I want it to be"

Cedric came out to his parents at fourteen, they were both very understanding but he hadn't came out to the school, the only other person who knew was Cho, even though they were in separate houses that didn't stop them from becoming close friends, and he came out to her first, he expected her to go tell people or yell in disgust, she tried to find him a boyfriend, but no one at Hogwarts really did it for him

"So Cedric, who's the lucky guy?" Cho still smiling, she loved embarrassing Cedric

"It's-"

"Cedric!" he turned around to see Harry, running towards him, when he reached Cedric, he was huffing and puffing, Cho tilted her head, but when she saw Cedric place a hand on Harry's shoulder and asking if he was okay, she knew.

"Sorry... I'm... late..." Harry breathed out

"It's okay Harry just take your time"

"Aren't you going to introduce me Cedric?" Cho giggled, he knew that she knew, 'I am not going to hear the end of this' Cedric worryingly thought

"Sorry" Harry coughed "I'm Harry" he stretched out his hand for her to shake, she giggled again and shook it

"Harry, me and Cho were going to go to the library"

"Oh" Harry looked down, Cedric felt guilty at double booking

"Say Harry why don't you join us?" Cho asked

"Yeah! Cedric, is okay if Ron and Hermione joined us?"

"Sure! The more the merrier" Cedric nearly shouted, Cho thought to herself 'Cedric sure does like Harry I hope he likes him too'

"I wonder where they went" Harry questioned, looking around him for any sign of them

"Why don't you ask us?" Ron came up behind Harry who jumped out of his skin, everyone laughed at Harry, who pouted his lips.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Here they were, in the library and all talking, quietly of course, Harry and Cedric were sat next to each other, Ron, Cho and Hermione were all talking about quidditch

"So Harry I wanted to ask you something" Cedric said, quietly

"Um okay" Harry became worried as when people said something like that, it never seemed to end well

"I-I" Cedric stuttered, Cho looked over to Cedric, seeing him become all nervous

"Ron, house elves deserve a better way of life" Hermione argued

"I do too, but you're going about it all wrong" Ron argued back, Cho gave Cedric a wink

"I think I saw a book near the back, about the bad treatment of elves in quidditch" Cho put out

"That is bullcrap! House elves in quidditch were treated the best!" Ron nearly shouted

"Yeah right, I think they're just lying, Cho where is this book?" Hermione said, giving a glare to Ron

"Yeah, Cho where is this book of lies" Ron gave a glare of his own back

"Oh I think I know where it is, come on this way" Cho lead Ron and Hermione down an aisle of books, soon they couldn't be heard bickering 'Thanks Cho' Cedric thought to himself

"Boy I hope them two don't drive her insane" Harry mumbled, hoping Cedric wouldn't go running after them, he loved them two just sat here, again it felt like a date and Harry liked that thought

"Harry, I um" Cedric grabbed Harry's hand, who looked down at the two hands holding "Harry I like you" Cedric's face immediately went red "I understand if you're weirded out" Cedric let go of Harry's hand, but his face shot up when he felt Harry grab his again

"I like you too Cedric" Harry reached out with his other hand, cupping Cedric's cheek who leaned into it, it felt good, it felt right

"Harry, meet me in that classroom, after dinner, please?" Cedric purred

"Yeah, I think we need to know where we're going" Harry let go of Cedric's cheek, Cedric grabbed Harry's hand which was at his face, and kissed the back of it, Cedric rubbed the hand which still was encased inside his own, he looked into Harry's eyed, something inside him clicked and he leaned over to Harry and kissed him, it wasn't a long, drawn out kiss but rather a small quick one, but in that quick kiss he tasted Harry and he knew he loved it

"Cedric!" A young, Hufflepuff girl appeared, she had black hair which ran down her back, she was very beautiful, with green eyes and ruby red lips, Cedric's hands tensed in Harry

"Hi Lilah" Cedric growled out, the Lilah came over, carrying a chair, she placed her chair in between Harry and Cedric, she grabbed Cedric's hands and winked a him

"So Cedric when we going on this date?" Lilah purred, Harry's eyes shot out, 'He's already dating someone?' Harry gathered his stuff and stormed off, it was about time for lunch but Harry didn't feel hungry "Oh good he's left, now it's just me and you" Lilah pouted her lips

"Lilah, here I thought the smell of dead dog was from an actually dog, oh wait" Cho growled

"Cho, this doesn't concern you, come on Cedric" She again pouted

"Lilah go away!" Cedric yelled, but it didn't seem to reach her ears, she leaned in to kiss him but he moved out of the way

"Playing hard to get?" Lilah giggled, Cedric got up and charged after Harry followed by Ron and Herminone, Cho stood there, staring at Lilah fiercely

"Lilah you better stay away Cedric and Harry" Cho threatened, and stomped off after everyone else

"Oh my dear Cho, Harry better stay away from Cedric" She lifted her wand and out the end was a noose, generated by her "Or else" and the noose burned away.

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"Harry! Harry, stop!" Cedric yelled after the boy stomping down an empty corridor, he didn't, he felt so dumb for thinking someone actually liked him, let alone Cedric, it must have been some hideous prank, still Cedric shouted after him, but he didn't stop, he didn't want to, to faced with the mob of jokers which probably set this whole thing up, he stopped when he felt an arm grab his "Harry, just hear me out"

"No, get off me!" Harry snarled, thrashing around

"Harry?" Ron called, seeing Cedric holding onto Harry's arm when he clearly didn't want him too, Ron pulled back his fist and punched Cedric square in the jaw, who landed on his ass "Harry, are you okay mate?" He rushed over to Harry, who was pale, Cedric rubbed his jaw

"Harry, give Cedric a chance" Cho said, she was stood next to Hermione, Harry looked down to Cedric

"That girl is someone who is obsessed with me, she just won't leave me alone" Cedric meekly said aloud, Ron felt guilty for punching him, he gave him a hand to lift him up

"Sorry" Ron said

"It's okay... Harry, I don't want to be with her, I want to be with you" Cedric said, walking over to Harry

"You mean it?" Harry said, wanting to cry

"Of course I do" Cedric wrapped his arms around Harry and squeezed him tight, Ron walked over to Cho and Hermione, the girls both shared a 'Aww', Ron just stood there with his hands behind his back, when Harry and Cedric broke the hug, Harry blushed, now seeing everyone looking at him, thankfully the awkwardness was broken by Ron's stomach grumbling

"I think Ron needs food or else he'll eat us" Cedric said

"Don't tempt me" Ron said, laughing, Hermione and Cho begun to walk off, talking about girly things, Ron stopped Harry and Cedric "Guys I want to say, I don't care you guys are" Ron gestured to their hand holding "But if you break Harry heart, I will kick your ass" Ron walked away from the two men

"Well that went well" Harry said, squeezing Cedric's hand

"I don't know, that kiss, can't really remember it"

"I suppose I should remind you" Harry said turning to Cedric, he reached up and pecked his lips to Cedric's

"Come on, you shouldn't be worried about just Ron eating you, I'm staving!" Cedric grabbed Harry's hand and walked to the Grand Hall, once the hallways begun to crowd up with people, they both broke hands, 'Looks like we should talk about how we go about this' Cedric thought, they all went their separate ways, Ron and Hermione sat on one side of the table while Harry went to the other side

"What do we have after lunch?" Harry asked

"Bloody Potions, with Slytherin, eugh" Ron groaned, Harry looked over to Malfoy who was with his usual group of people, looking as smug as ever, water abruptly begun to trickle down Harry's back, he was soaked head to toe in water, everyone looked over to him, the Slytherins begun to laugh at him, he felt very dumb, he turned to see who had accidentally poured a jug of water onto Harry, he turned to see Lilah stood there, a grin on her face

"Oh I so sorry!" She said falsely

"Its okay" Harry grounded out, Lilah had walked, smiling all the way, Harry looked over to see Cedric looking at him, he gave him a weak smile, Lilah had pushed the boy next to Cedric, out of her way and sat next to him, her lips pouting, all the Hufflepuff boys near her, dropped whatever they were doing and stayed at her, Cedric just ignored her, she again grabbed his hands, but this time he pulled them away and walked down the end of the table, she looked over to Harry and glared at him

"Potter I expect to see you in Potions, but please don't spill the potions down yourself" Snape said, stifling laughter, however the Slytherins who had heard him, struggled to hold their sides together, he walked away in the direction of the dungeons

"Harry mate what you going to do about your clothes?" Ron asked, trying to ignore the Slytherins behind him

"I'm not sure, I suppose I'll go up and dry my clothes off as best as I can" Nearly all of Harry's clothes were in the wash, he walked over to the front doors when Cho stopped him

"Here" she raised her wand and hot air came rushing out of it, in a matter of seconds, Harry was completely dry

"Thanks Cho!"

"Don't mention it, and don't pay any attention to that bitch" Cho begun to walk off towards the owlery, Lilah looked pissed, she tapped a boy on the shoulder and asked him to pass her a cup of water, she got up and walked over to Harry, when she reached him, she raised the cup to pour over him

"Oh! Sorry!" Hermione shouted, she had just bumped into her and knocked all the water all over her, she looked down at her soaked clothes and at Hermione

"You little..." Lilah started

"Come on Potions awaits!" Ron shouted grabbing Hermione and Harry dragging them off to the dungeons, Cedric just finished his food and look up and thought to himself 'Harry don't have to worry about anything if we're all here for him'

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Where you off too Harry?" Ron said, they'd just come up to the Gryffindor tower, Ron had convinced Dean to have a game of slaughter, sorry, chess, with him and everyone was gathering to watch the game

"I'm going to study with..." Ron caught on and waved him off, not wanting to hear details, Harry walked out the portrait door, this time at least he was dressed properly in some jeans and a t-shirt, Cedric said he was going to be a little late, he wanted to sort out Lilah out, he didn't want Harry to keep worrying about things getting thrown over him, so Harry decided to go visit Alexander

He arrived at the chamber door again, he knocked and said "Alexander?' the door swung open to reveal the same brown haired boy

"Hello Harry" He said, he stepped aside and let Harry in, Harry practically danced over to the chair "Well you seem in a good mood"

"I am, but how are you?" Harry asked

"I'm good, just had some dinner" Alexander pointed over to a plate next to the other chair

"Do you mind if I ask how you live down here? Like lessons and food?"

"I don't mind, Ginger, she brings it all to me, I complete work and she takes it back, she does a lot for me" Alexander looked over to the fireplace

"I hate to ask but what year are you in?"

"Why do you hate to ask?" Alexander raised an eyebrow at Harry

"Because it seems rude, asking someone how old they are"

"I don't mind, I'm in my fourth year here and I am fifth-teen" Alexander picked up his plate, then Ginger appeared with a pop

"Thank you, Ale-" she stopped as she looked over to see Harry sat in a chair, he gave her a weak wave "Alex, is everything okay?" she asked

"Yes, oh Harry, yeah, he's started visiting me" Alexander said

"Oh Alex! You have a friend!" Ginger grabbed him around his waist and hugged him

"Ginger!" Alexander tried to get Ginger off him, Harry just laughed, she eventually let go and left, promising to bring hot chocolate "She always gets so excited" Alexander pinched his nose "Oh I never asked, what's got you so excited?"

"I'm meeting someone" Harry could hardly contain himself

"Girlfriend? Boyfriend?" Alexander asked

"Hopefully boyfriend" Harry said with a smile, which Alexander gave back, Ginger appeared again, holding two hot mugs, Alexander took his and grabbed Harry's but he gave it back to Ginger

"Ginger do you think Harry could have another mug of hot chocolate? He's meeting someone"

"I'll bring it straight to them, where are you meeting them Mister Harry Potter?"

"it's just Harry, and we'll be meeting in a forgotten classroom near the kitchens but it's okay"

"No, no I'll bring you both some, see you soon!" and Ginger disappeared again, Alexander sipped at the hot chocolate

"She didn't have to do that you know?" Harry said to Alexander

"I know but she wanted to, she'd have done it anyway, so its better for her to complete a job she actually needs to and feel genuine gratitude then some fake gratitude"

"She's different from other house elves, isn't she?" Harry asked, more than said

"Yeah, I suppose it's because I allowed her to be herself and she's grown used to it"

"That's good, elves need better treatment" Harry said, feeling sad at the thought of Dobby and how the Malfoy's treated him

"They do, I don't mean to be rude but when are you meeting your friend? Alexander said, finishing off his hot chocolate, he left it next to him

"I think soon, so I should be going, but it was awesome talking to you Alexander"

"Same here Harry, see you soon" Harry walked over to the door and shut it, Alexander sat back down into his chair and said aloud to himself "I hope I do actually have a friend"


	4. Chapter 4

**_I know these come out quite quickly but I enjoy writing them, which is always good :) Thank you to Pheonixs1518, Geetac and Milly346 for joining us on the ride :D _**

_**End Of Term**_

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Harry walked out the door, waving to Alexander, when he bumped into a long bushy beard, he looked up to see Professor Dumbledore stood there along with Professor McGonagall, he was clutching at an old book, but when he noticed Harry he passed the book to Professor McGonagall who walked into Alexander's chamber without knocking

"Harry" Dumbledore said, drawing Harry's attention away from the door "What were you doing in there?"

"I was visiting Alexander" Harry shifted slightly

"Oh you were? I think you should be off, I have some business with him" Dumbledore walked to the door

"It's nothing bad, is it?" Harry asked

"Oh no, just a friendly chat, he doesn't get out much, but I guess you already know" Dumbledore looked at Harry with a sparkle in his eye. thinking about how caring Harry was "Harry why don' you come back in?"

"I can't, sorry, but I'm um..." Harry mumbled

"Busy?" Dumbledore offered

"Yeah, but I will see Alexander before the end of term" Harry declared, realising where he needed to be, Harry rushed off, Dumbledore opened the door, he saw Alexander sat at a desk with the large book in front of him, McGonagall was in the crimson chair Harry usually sits in, she gestured to Dumbledore to sit down, and they both sat there whist Alexander read the old book.

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"Lilah, it is never going to happen!" Cedric yelled, they were both near Mr Hagrid's hut, Cedric didn't want her to create a scene, as Lilah was famous for it

"Come on Cedric, you've never been with me" She reached up to cup his cheek but he grabbed her arm and pushed it away from his cheek

"No Lilah, I don't want to be with you" Cedric begun to walk away from Lilah, rage boiled in her, and it boiled over

"If you leave me now, who knows what'll happen to that Harry Potter?" She giggled threateningly, Cedric stopped walking away from her

"You what?" Cedric said over his shoulder

"Oh that water incident, don't you think something worse could happen, like failing down some stairs or that lake is pretty dangerous"

"Don't you dare hurt Harry" Cedric yelled at her

"Who said I would do anything of the sort, I was referring to an accident, but I feel if you and me were going to be together, I think it would drop Harry's accident rate" She pulled herself up onto a crate and crossed her legs, she was wearing a white, silk dress, which just came below her knee, she wore some platform shoes and had her black cascading down her back, Cedric just wore his usual jeans and t-shirt. Cedric begun to panic, he didn't want anything to happen to Harry because of him, so he tried to throw her off him

"Go ahead, he doesn't mean anything to me" He continued to walk away from her, but he stopped when she started giggling

"Come on Cedric, I know he's a good friend to you" 'Thank god she doesn't about our relationship'

"Lilah why are you obsessed with me?" Cedric questioned

"I think in love is a better word" She hopped off the crate

"I don't" Cedric said coldly

"If you ask nicely I might answer you"

"Please, why are you such a psycho bitch?" Cedric smirked

"Oh dear, getting more feisty, good thing I like that" She walked over to him, her fingers ghosting over his skin "Very well seeing as you asked nicely; We were in our third year and I already thought you were pretty cute, but when you rescued me from the Whomping Willow, I knew we were destined to be together"

"I don't think so Lilah, this needs to stop"

"Come on now Cedric, don't be like this" For once the cocky and beautiful girl had disappeared and now all there was a girl who looked scared

"Lilah, find a guy, have a family and grow old together"

"I have" She snaked her hands around Cedric's neck

"But that's not me, believe me" He pulled at her arms and held them "I'm sorry" Cedric begun to walk away again, and soon he was walking back up those steps, but Lilah had an aura of cockiness about her, she shouted after him

"Shame about that Potter boy" she turned away from him, but she knew it would bring him back to her

"What do you mean Lilah" Cedric growled at her

"I'm able to look into the future and I see that Potter boy" She spat out when she said 'Boy' "failing down the stairs" Cedric went pale, she walked over to him, ghosting her whole body around his "It's a terrible shame, poor Potter"

"Tell me what you want, and cut the crap about you not doing anything to Harry"

"Oh Cedric, look at how our fingers fit perfectly into each other"

"Lilah..." Cedric snarled at her

"Alright I'll get to it, I'm single, you're single, let's fix that, shall we?" She purred into his ear, he hated this, be with Harry or let Harry get hurt, but there was no other way about it

"Okay Lilah... I give in" she hugged him tightly, she snaked her hands all over him, then she grabbed him and headed to the castle. The usual glow of it didn't appeal to Cedric, feeling defeated, he really cared for Harry, enough, to give up his happiness for him 'And now I'll never know what could have been', Cedric knew that Lilah would make some big show about it all, and that she'd probably kiss him in front of everyone, Harry would just go and run away, but at least he wasn't lying in a bed, with a sheet over him, that thought really did scare Cedric, someone getting hurt, or worse, because of him and he could have stopped it. He knocked into Lilah when she stopped, she was staring at Harry who was stood in front of them

"Oh Harry, haven't you heard the good news me and Cedric are together!" Lilah pulled Cedric down into a kiss, he truly did try and kiss her but seeing Harry's face like that and hers in a grin, Cedric just acted on impulse, he shoved the girl away and ran to Harry who looked like he was about to burst into tears, he held Harry's hands and rubbed the backs of them "Harry you know what she's like, don't believe her" Harry looked into Cedric's eyes and whispered quietly

"I don't" Cedric smiled to Harry and would have kissed him passionately had he not noticed Lilah over there

"Harry" She laughed aloud "Harry, Harry, Harry, you just seem to keep getting in the way" she raised her wand and cast a spell at Harry, he reached for his wand but he'd left it upstairs, he didn't think he was going to be attacked, Harry closed his eyes, but he didn't feel the hit of the spell, he opened them to see Professor Flitwick stood there, a shield over Harry and Cedric, Cho was next to him with her wand out, Cedric followed suit and pulled his out, but he remained next to Harry, to shield him

"Now just what is going on here Miss Turnester?" Flitwick yelled, he put away his wand but Cho and Cedric still had their's drawn "You can come with me to Professor Sprout where your punishment will be decided accordingly" Professor Flitwick pointed her back out to the grounds, it was getting dark but Professor Sprout would still be inside her greenhouses, once they both left the scene, Harry took a sharp breath and leaned against Cedric, even though he knew he wouldn't die, it was still tense nonetheless, he felt that Lilah looked like she was tempted to hex the professor but she decided against it at the last second

"Cho what were you doing here?" Cedric asked, he gave Harry all the support he needed

"Oh I just stumbled across you guys..." She looked away from the pair

"Cho..." Cedric asked

"Alright, I was going to ambush you after seeing Harry, I'm nosy" She said when she saw Harry look at her weirdly "But then I saw lady bitch over there, hugging you and you didn't do anything about it, so I thought she'd done something, I went and got Professor Flitwick and well here we are"

"I don't know whether to be happy or mad" Cedric said rubbing Harry, he looked down to see Harry staring at the floor "Harry?" Cedric reached down to check up on him, when he felt Harry tilt up and grab his lips in a passionate kiss, Cedric and Harry fought for dominance but in the end Cedric won "What was that for?" Cedric asked after they finished

"Because, I want to be the only one who'll kiss you like that" Harry looked at the ground, he blushed thinking about the audience he had, Cho just looked over them two, she had the decency to look away when they first started kissing but like she said, she was nosy and couldn't help peeking, Cedric gave her a look, which said 'Can we have a minute?', she walked over to them both, she placed her hands on Harry's shoulder

"Don't worry about her, we've got you back!" she smiled to Harry who returned it, she walked past Cedric and mouthed to him 'Details, later' she continued walking, with a spring in her step, Cedric watched her skip away, feeling very grateful to her for coming, he didn't know if he could protect Harry and stop Lilah at the same time

"So should we get going to our room?" Cedric asked

"Oh yeah" when they opened the door, there was two mugs, which looked warm rather than hot, and some assortment of cakes

"Harry! Did you do this?" Cedric was amazed at what his boyfriend had done, well he thought he was his boyfriend

"I think a friend did it for us" Harry smiled and sat down, he needed a drink and the hot chocolate smelled just perfect, he'd never had as much hot chocolate as he had, in the past few days

"These cakes are too die for!" Cedric shouted, he really loved strawberry it seemed, he and Harry shared many different cakes, they were small so they didn't fill them up, they tried mint, orange, banana and many others, when they finished they both felt so full and warm

"So..." Harry asked, worrying about the main reason they came in here for for

"Yeah..." Cedric said, knowing how anxious Harry felt, as he felt it too

"Are we dating? Like boyfriends?" Harry asked, Cedric reached over for Harry's hand, 'this feels right' Harry thought

"Yeah, well I want to, do you?"

"Yeah, of course"

"I won't force you into Harry, I promise"

"Cedric, I'm not ready to come out about us, to the whole school, I think I've had my fill of being the centre of attention for a while" They both laughed, it seemed that was all they needed to talk about, they felt they'd figure their way through this, like any other couple, Harry yawned loudly and Cedric laughed, he lead him up to Gryffindor tower, when he saw no one else was there, he kissed Harry, who kissed back, they both night and Cedric walked away back down the stairs, Harry leaned against the wall, when he heard a muffled "Hey! Get off!" Harry leapt away from the wall, realising he was leaning against a portrait of The Fat Lady

"Sorry" Harry said the password and walked in, it seemed the carnage which was Ron's match against Dean, had ended not too long ago, as Ron was gloating, it seems no one had heard about what happened with Lilah, he hoped no one would, but he knew they would after a while, He went straight to sleep, with a smile on his face

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The next few days passed without any problems, Lilah had been given detention and separation from the students, and everyone seemed to be quite excited about going home, everyone apart from Harry, he knew he'd being going back to the Dursleys, the next morning everyone had asked about what happened to Lilah, more so the Hufflepuff boys, they all saw have she was acting around Cedric so they figured they were dating, when they asked him he said they weren't dating and she was a bitch.

Harry and Cedric met every available opportunity, they were still in the early stages of their relationship but Harry can now safely say that he'd made out with someone, Harry felt so happy about life, he'd made new friends, he had a boyfriend, everything seemed to be going so well. He was sat inside the Gryffindor common room, on the chair, near the fire, Hermione was with Cho, they'd quickly become good friends, they became like sisters, plus Hermione could have a closer look at next year's work, Ron was having two games of chess with George and Fred, at the same time, they were lasting longer than usual but Harry knew they'd lose.

When the games was over and done, Fred and George went about collecting the money they'd made off the bets about the match, it seemed some people believed Ron wouldn't be able to fight two people at one, but they were wrong. Ron came over to Harry, with a satisfied grin

"Have fun?" Harry asked, his eyes glued to the fire

"It was okay, a little challenging, hey Harry, you're not doing anything this summer are you?" Ron asked, pacing by Harry

"I don't think so" The Dursleys didn't take Harry out, especially since the whole snake thing, but Harry thought he was referring to Cedric, they hadn't decided on anything, but he figured he'd see him, at least he hoped he would

"Oh good, I told mum you were coming round" Ron said nonchalantly

"Thanks?" He was glad he was going round to Ron's but he was a little annoyed he just decided on his behalf, the thought of the summer brought Harry to think about Alexander, he hadn't seen him recently, when he tried to see him a few days ago, no answer came to the door, Harry figured it would be rude to just enter so he left. He got up to go see, Alexander, Ron was off playing exploding snap with Fred and George.

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When Harry turned up at Alexander's chamber he saw Ginger outside, an annoyed look on her face, she was holding a sliver plate with some food and a jug and cup was next to her

"Ginger?" Harry asked, she turned to face Harry, she opened her mouth to say hello but all that come out was a grunt "What's wrong?"

"Alexander's holed himself up in there, usually I come, leave the food and then come back for the plates, but he hasn't be eating, so I've come to force him to eat"

"Need some help?" Harry asked, he knew it was bad to not eat plus he wanted to annoy Alexander

"Please" Ginger pushed open the door, the fire was out but the torches all around the room were brightly lit, Alexander was sat there, the worn out book, still in front of him "Alex, I've tried playing nice but now I'm playing mean" He didn't seem to register she was there, let alone Harry, however Ginger had a plan, she clicked her fingers and the book appeared in her hands

"Hey!" Alexander stood up, ready to take the book back

"You can have it back when you're finished eating, every bite" she clicked her fingers again, the jug and the plate appeared on the desk and with another click she disappeared with the book. Alexander mumbled and fell into his desk chair and pulled the food towards him, when it was close enough his stomach growled

"Hey" Harry said, waving to the annoyed Alexander

"Oh hi" Alexander had a mouthful of food, Harry took a seat on the red chairs , it was quiet apart from Alexander's loud chomping of his food, it seemed he was pretty annoyed at Ginger, Harry thought it was funny that their relationship was like this, Alexander broke the silence "How are you Harry? Saw your friend?"

"I'm good, and yeah I saw him" Harry gave a smile which Alexander picked up on

"Ah, it went well did it?" Harry blushed, which made Alexander laugh "So who is it?" Harry shifted in his chair "Who am I going to tell? The fire?" they both laughed, Alexander seemed to put more effort into it, looking at the truth that he didn't have anyone to tell, well now he has Harry, hopefully

"It's Cedric Diggory"

"Older? Younger?"

"He's older, he's in his fifth year and in Hufflepuff" Alexander looked at Harry

"You seem to quite like him"

"I do, yeah" Alexander took a drink from his cup, when he looked over at Harry he looked as if he was thinking things over "It occurs to me, we don't know actually a lot about each other"

"I think this is our second time meeting" Harry laughed

"So come on, let's find out about each other" Alexander continued after eating his food "And let's start small" They both sat there, asking questions, favourite colours, favourite books, etc. soon they learned all they could, the small things anyway, they sat again in silence, Alexander had since finished eating his food, soon Ginger appeared again, she was holding the book and some dessert, she placed both onto the desk and looked rather sheepish

"Sorry Alex" Ginger grabbed the plate which held Alexander's dinner, he reached for her hand and said

"Thank you Ginger, for looking out for me" she smiled at him and disappeared with a pop, Alexander looked at the book and pushed it to the far end of the desk, the dessert was an assortment of fruits, Alexander picked up the plate which had them on, he walked over to the other chair next to Harry, he picked an orange and offered the plate to Harry who chose a peach, then placed the plate onto the floor, Harry's eyes were drawn to the book, Harry figured this was the reason that Transfiguration was cancelled, but why was it here with Alexander? This didn't make much sense, this only added to the mystery of Alexander, Harry had to try and figure out that mystery

"What's the book about?" Harry asked nonechantly

"It's a school book" Alexander said, finished off his orange

"I thought Ginger brought those for you?"

"This is a new book, she felt it best to give it to me in person" Alexander turned away from Harry, 'He's spent ages, building up these walls'

"Is it a Transfiguration book?" Harry walked over to the book, extending his hand to touch it

"Yes, and very old, so please leave it alone" Alexander nearly growled but he managed to keep it under control, Harry pulled his hand back, whatever book it was, Alexander was protective of it "Sorry, I didn't want to come across as angry"

"It's okay" Harry went back to his seat where he and Alexander sat in silence, Harry was going to leave when Ginger appeared again, she didn't grab the empty plate instead she walked over to Harry, behind her was Dobby, Alexander obviously seemed a little unnerved by the new arrival, but when Ginger saw Alexander getting apprehensive, she walked to him and stood by him, he calmed down but he was still unsure of Dobby

"Mister Harry Potter! Are you alright?" Dobby asked with huge eyes

"I am, Dobby, why do you ask?" Harry inquired

"Dobby has heard of Harry's problem with Lilah" Dobby showed signs of jumping on Harry to make sure he was okay

"Sorry, what has happened?" Alexander tilted his head to one side

"Well it's a long story..." Harry said, he didn't want to tell Dobby as he usually got a little over-dramatic and he might go off and do something to Lilah, to protect Harry, as nice as it would be to see that bitch have a taste of her own medicine, Harry didn't want to sink to her level, Alexander looked as if he was angry, although Harry wasn't sure why

"Dobby wanted to come see Mister Harry Potter, to check his was okay"

"Come on Dobby, we need to heading back to the kitchen" Ginger said, she reached for plate next to Harry and looked at him, her eyes scanning him all over, she wanted to make sure he was okay too, she grabbed the plate, headed back to Dobby, she gave a wave to both and then they both disappeared

"Do you want to talk about it?" Alexander said, looking away

"I... I don't mind" Harry said, Alexander stared into the flames

"If it is okay with you I'd like to hear about this Lilah"

"Well there's not a lot to say about her, apart from that she loves Cedric, I mean obsesses over Cedric, and she hates me, she tried to hex me a few days ago but Professor Flitwick managed to stop the hex" Harry finished, Alexander stared more into the flames, he got up, without saying a word to Harry, he walked over to the desk and opened a draw, he fished around for a few moments and then walked back to Harry

"Here" Harry opened his hands, Alexander placed a gold coin into them

"What's this for?"

"For sweets or something, I know the ride home is coming, treat yourself"

"Alexander, I'm okay for money" Harry tried to give him back the coin but he refused

"Keep it, buy something for Cedric and Harry, call me Alex" he smiled to Harry, and sat back down

"Thank you Alex" Harry smiled to him "When you going home?" Alex's smile disappeared and when Harry thought they were doing so well

"I'll be here" Alex said coldly

"Oh..." Harry said, he wanted to move onto something better "Can I owl you over the summer? Maybe meet up?"

"You want to owl me?" Alex said, confused

"And try and see you" Harry added

"You sure?"

"Yeah, I best be going, I still need to pack, and I'll go see Ginger and let her know I'll send you mail, she'll probably bring it to you or something"

"No, it's okay, I'll pick up the mail myself, but see you soon Harry"

"You too Alex" Harry walked out the door, Alex turned to the fire, a smile on his face, when he was sure no one was near or there, he did a little jump in the air, feeling happy, but then he remembered the book, he went and sat back down by and the desk and read the book again.


	5. Chapter 5

_**I know its been a while since I last updated, but I wanted to do this whole chapter justice, thank you Dstar858, Potter-Granger-mad, Mrmikezabini227, and Loopyhutton for joining the party!**_

_**Back in hell**_

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Cedric and Harry packed into the small compartment, inside were Cho, Ron, Hermione and some girl called Luna. Cedric thought he'd have the chance to sit with Harry and cuddle but now with Luna here it didn't seem they could, she seemed like a nice person but who knows what she'd say, everyone was in their robes, Cho and Cedric could choose to wear normal clothes, being older but they didn't want to embarrass Harry and his friends. Luna was in her robes but she was wearing some weird objects; she had some purple glasses on and a ring with some weird goblin on it, everyone seemed to be ignoring about what she was wearing, she was also reading a magazine, it looked like it said 'The Quillber', but she kept moving it around and mumbling 'I never knew'. Harry was struggling to lift his bag above onto the rack, sure Cedric could have helped but that would have stopped him from seeing the amazing sight of Harry's arse, he did feel a little guilty though, thinking about Harry in that light, in the young days of their budding relationship, but he was a teenage boy, Cedric decided to keep those ideas and thoughts to himself, he didn't want Harry to rush into anything he might regret, wanting to remove these thoughts before he rugby-tackled Harry, Cedric helped Harry with his bag "Thanks" Harry flashed Cedric one of those smiles he loved, but Cedric knew there was worry there, after they finally established their relationship, Harry told him about his home life, being left in the background, Cedric felt so angry, how could anyone who'd lost their sister, treat her son like a leech? But he didn't say anything, he thought it for the best, he expected Harry to cry or look sad, but he looked more in thought than anything else, when Cedric asked him about it, Harry brushed it off and moved onto Cedric's living status.

He lived with his parents who loved him very much, he didn't want to seem like he was rubbing it in Harry's face, so he didn't linger on it, but Harry told him, he didn't want him to change to better suit Harry's needs, besides he was okay with it all. When he got home he wanted to tell his parents he was seeing someone, he didn't mind telling his mother about Harry but it was his dad he was worried about, he wasn't homophobic or anything like that, since Cedric 'beat' Harry at Quidditch, his dad was going around saying he was better than Harry, imagine what he'd say if he said he was dating Harry 'If you can't beat them, date them! Eh Harry!' and Cedric didn't want that to be Harry's first impression of his dad.

Everyone was settled and relaxing, they were all waiting for the train to be under way, most of the professors had turned up to see them off, the only one who didn't was Professor Dumbledore. The whistle blew and they were off, the last thing they saw was the castle disappearing into the distance, it'd be a good few hours till they arrived in London, so they all settled into their own conversations, Cho and Hermione again were talking, Ron was asking questions about the Quillber to Luna, and Harry and Cedric were talking about summer plans.

"I'm looking forward to the World Cup" Cedric said, Ron shifted in his seat but focused on Luna

"Which World Cup?" Harry said, Cedric laughed at him

"The only one, silly"

"There's a Quidditch world cup?" Harry asked, Cedric begun to realise Harry wasn't joking

"Is there another one?" Cedric now questioned

"Yeah the muggle one" Cedric raised his eyebrow, wondering at how Muggles could have a World Cup, they really are quite amazing at handling themselves without magic

"Cedric?" Harry asked, seeming a little scared

"Yeah, what's up Harry?" Cedric followed Harry's finger to the window where a girl with long Black hair was walking past, behind her trailed two other girls, one had large glasses and short brown hair, the other one wore a lot of black makeup and spiked purple hair, the girl with brown hair, she was wearing Gryffindor robes and the other one was wearing Slytherin robes

"It seems she has some lackies" Cho growled, she laid her hand on her wand, as did Cedric, they knew Lilah wouldn't go down so easierly, but she walked past them, without looking into the compartment, it sounded as if she was going into the next one, with these two other girls, Luna looked up from her magazine

"Oh it's them" She said in a sweet voice

"You know them?" Cho asked

"I do yes" She went back into her magerzine

"Do you mind telling us about them?" Hermione questioned

"Yeah, they're all in the same year just different houses, the brown haired girl is called Amber, she's in Gryffindor and apparently she's pretty good at Charms, the other girl is called Jade, and she's a dueller, and in Slytherin"

"Isn't it weird they're all in different houses?" Ron said matter of factly

"I don't think so, we're in different houses, and here we are" Luna said, everyone looked at her, sure she had a weird fashion sense but she had a good heart. Everyone settled into their conversations again, but this time, Luna had given her magazine to Ron, who'd grown interested in it, she's joined Hermione's and Cho's conversation, they moved onto the subject of food, which made Cedric's stomach grumble, which everyone laughed at

"I think I'll go find the trolley, it's taking ages to turn up!" Harry groaned, he was right but Cedric didn't want him going out by himself, thankfully, Cho, Hermione and Luna were hungry so they went off to look for it and Ron, he went off to find Dean, they'd argued the other night about some girl, and they weren't talking, so Ron wanted to sort that out. and Cedric and Harry were left alone, Harry closed the blinds and Cedric got into a more comfortable spot, he was in the middle, laying back, Harry placed his head in Cedric's lap. This felt like heaven to both of them, they wanted to stay like that forever. Cedric begun to weave his hand through Harry's hair, who was purring at the touch

"Mmmm Cedric..."

"Harry, are you going to be okay going home?" Cedric asked, looking out the window, he'd been worried about this for some time now, he didn't mean to blurt it out but it just happened, he thought he'd messed up, as Harry had gone quiet

"I'm not sure Cedric, it's hard going from somewhere so loud, so happy to somewhere so quiet"

"Why don't you go to Ron's or Hermione's?" Cedric wanted to invite him over but he felt it'd be too soon to ask something like that

"I don't want to impose" Harry said, he's always felt rude for asking for stuff so he tended to keep quiet and not upset anyone

"I'll ask them for you" Cedric smiled down to Harry

"Cedric, don't!" Harry moaned, he didn't want to ruin everything he had

"Anyway Harry..." Cedric said, dismissing Harry's chance to argue, to keep him calm, Cedric once again threaded his fingers through Harry's hair, a knock at the door was heard, they both straighted themselves out, Harry turned the handle and inside walked Amber and Jade from the other compartment, Amber nodded her head in appreaction and Jade just grunted, Jade threw herself onto the seat and put her feet up next to Cedric, Amber stood there, still

"Sit down ya idiot!" Jade yelled, which made Amber sit down "There we are, all better now"

"Why are you here?" Harry said, feeling brave

"We're just here to deliever a message to four eyes here... don't fuck with Lilah" Jade sneered at her remark, saying as if the girl was a god

"Please" Amber added, Jade shot her a look which made her pipe down

"Anyway, yeah, Lilah can't be here right now, something about some stupid constant seperation" Jade again sneered

"How does the ban last for the bitch?" Harry said, feeling Cho surging through his veins

"Don't talk about her like that!" Jade yelled, she drew her wand, holding it tightly, it was nearly completely black, Amber nodded and drew her's it was more a normal colour of brown, but it was really short, Cedric and Harry drew their's, a furious stand off ensured

"Jade, lower your wand" Amber said, putting her's away, Jade looked as if she was ready to argue but she saw Amber putting her's away and decided to follow suit "Harry, we're here to protect you, just leave Cedric alone and she'll leave you alone, okay?" Amber said, she didn't say it too be mean, she was trying to help, Harry and Cedric had since put away their wands, thinking that they weren't in any danger as they were on the Hogwarts express

"Sorry I can't do that" Harry said quietly, Jade again prepared to argue but Amber stopped her

"Then I suppose our time here is wasted, let's go" Amber was already out the door and back into the next compartment, Jade got up and growled

"You really shouldn't have called her a bitch" she spat, before Harry could raise his wand, she'd already sent out a spell "_Stupefy!" _ She called out, Cedric called to Harry but he didn't feel the sting of the spell or the blackness it invites, he looked down to see the coin Alex had given him was glowing the red of the spell and then it crumpled and turned to ash, when he and Cedric looked up, Jade was gone, she might have gone into the other compartment but who knows with them, and to be honest they didn't really care, they both were looking at the ash of the coin, they both didn't know what was going on

"Harry, how did you know that spell?"

"Erm, which spell?"

"Me and Cho learnt it at the beginning of last year, its something to do with charming objects, that one looked like a very weak protection spell, but how did you do it?"

"Who did what?" Cho asked, her, Hermione and Luna had appeared in the doorway, Luna was busy eating some chocolate along with Hermione, they both had a haul of food and dumped it on the other seats, Cho looked at Cedric to see his worried look "Cedric what happened?" she gestured to the ash on Harry

"Lilah's 'friends' came and gave us a visit" Cho sat down next to Harry, Hermione finished eating whatever she was eating and stared at Harry, Luna pushed the food too Harry, she got up and stood by the door, she peeked outside to see if the offending people were still nearby, thankfully they weren't

"Harry, are you okay?" Hermione asked, feeling scared

"Yeah, lucky I bought this" Harry pointed down to the ash, Hermione, Luna and Cho believed he'd bought the charmed coin but Cedric didn't know quite what to make of the situation, where had Harry bought the coin? Right now that didn't matter, right now, all that mattered was Harry was okay "I'm going to go clean up" Harry stood up and reached for the door but was stopped by Cedric's voice

"Harry I'll come with you" Cedric said, he got up to follow him

"Cedric, I'll be fine, I don't need to be watched over like a baby" Harry got up and walked away before Cedric could follow him, he sat back down, looking worried, Hermione and Cho shared a glance while Luna stared out the window, it had begun to rain, and now the downpour had increased in strength. Cedric wanted to run and chase after Harry but he knew Harry needed some space, it all must be too much, and Harry had more than enough on his plate, Cedric figured he needed to make a plan, Ron was still gone but Cho and Hermione were still here, however Luna was still here, and he didn't think she was hostile but right now his protective natures over Harry were in overdrive, sensing this, Hermione grabbed Luna's arm

"Hey, let's go find Ron" Hermione said it more than asked her, Luna, glad for the company, said yes and they both left, leaving Cho and Cedric alone, the silence hung in the air and could have been slashed with a knife

"You care for him don't you?" Cho said, she was looking out the window

"I do, something about him makes me lose all control" Cedric nearly shouted

"She's isn't going to stop you know?" Cho said solemnly

"I was hoping she would, I mean Harry was attacked in this carriage, we couldn't even go to a teacher as Jade's in Slytherin and Snape guards them"

"Yeah, this is getting hard" Cho sat there and crossed her arms, thinking of a way to fix all this "But, we can't give up, we have to keep trying, I'll help you take care of that bitch!" Cho shouted, she smiled, trying to brighten up the carriage, it worked a little

"The problem is that she's escalating; first it was a threat, then a simple hex but this time it was a proper spell, Harry could have been really hurt, if it weren't for that coin" Cedric wanted to punch something, but he looked over to see Cho, again her arms crossed

"I wonder when he learned to cast that spell, it's not a hard one but still it's ahead of him" Cedric got up and walked to the door and windows, he closed the blinds, giving him and Cho some privacy

"I think he got the coin from somewhere, like he bought it or something" Cedric begun to calm down

"Why? How come he couldn't learn to do it early?" Cho was always the voice of reason to Cedric and helped him balance out everything

"Because... Something's been bothering him, I suppose it's something quite personal, as he hasn't talked about it and when I try and pry, he closes up. And if he's got that going on, how could he; go find next years books, then try and learn the spell, then successfully cast it into that coin, too many holes" Cedric finished

"Then why would he buy the coin? You wouldn't have something like that in Hogsmeade, and then if he bought it, why would he suddenly feel the need to bring it with him?" Cho and Cedric sat there in silence again, trying to figure this whole thing out, when Cho sighed loudly "Cedric, we're reading into this too much, maybe he did just buy the coin as some sort of good luck charm and then when this whole mess appeared he brought it along to try and feel better about this whole situation"

"Yeah, I'm reading far too much into this" Cedric dragged a hand through his hair, he and Cho sat up and talked about their summer plans, something keep annoying Cedric about this whole thing, it wasn't so much as to where Harry got the coin, but why he felt the need to bring it with him.

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"What did Alex do to that coin?" Harry asked himself, he was staring the mirror, he'd gone to one of the toilets on the train, it looked like a toilet from the school, the only big difference was that it was a single cubicle so whoever was in here was on their own. He was going over everything which had just happened in his head, he'd taken his coin out after he thought Jade and Amber had left, he thought Hermione and the others would have come back and he wanted to buy something sweet for him and Cedric to share, but then Jade turned around and fired a spell at him, and the coin protected him.

Alex didn't look like he was casting a spell over the coin so he must have had the coin already charmed, so why would he have it in a such an easy area? Was he expecting to be attacked? Alex was such a mystery, Harry didn't even know his last name, but he knew his favourite colour, but when can that substitute for someone's last name? Harry bushed away that thought, hiding Alex is getting a little scary, "Maybe I can tell Cedric?" he said aloud, to the mirror, he didn't like hiding things from Cedric, especially, having a godfather who is a wrongly convicted murderer and a friend who lives in a hidden chamber "Man this whole dating thing is harder than it looks in those stupid movies" Harry splashed some water on his face, and decided to try and talk to Alex and Sirius about Cedric, not just Cedric, but for all the relationships he could have, eventually he'd have to tell them about Alex and Sirius.

He pulled open the door to see Amber and Jade walking past, Harry froze hoping they wouldn't notice him, but Jade dropped something, it looked like a sweet, she turned around to see Harry there and grinned "Well, look who we have here, Harry Potter with no one around" Jade said loudly, her reasoning for this was revealed when Lilah appeared from an empty compartment, terror begun to flood through Harry, here he was, alone, with two people who'd tried to hex the hell out of him, she walked over to him, Harry tried to hide back inside the toilet but Jade wedged a foot inside the doorway

"Harry" Lilah cooed, she reached for him, Jade drew her wand, but Amber stood there, watching this whole thing unfold "Oh Harry, I'm afraid I'm getting tired of these meetings, but from Jade tells me, you really didn't learn your lesson" Lilah grabbed his neck, and stared into his eyes, she begun to apply pressure, it didn't look like she wanted to kill Harry but she wanted to inflict pain, before she do any real damage Amber shouted

"Someone's coming!" Jade opened the door and ran inside, Lilah looked to Harry and grinned and gave one last squeeze and ran inside the compartment, Amber reached for the door and begun to close it, before she did "I'll stand out here, keep a lookout" Amber then shut the door completely, she drew her wand and cast a charm over the door to prevent people from hearing what was going on inside, Harry guessed this as he could hear Lilah's screaming and then nothing. He reached up to his neck and rubbed where Lilah had attempted to choke him, Amber turned to him and stared, Harry realished since Jade and Lilah hid inside the compartment, no one was coming down the train

"You lied?" Harry said meekly to Amber

"Yeah, I didn't want her to hurt you" Amber looked down to the floor

"Then why are you friend with her?" Harry said, Amber seemed to be genuine

"I never said I was friends with her, Jade isn't even friends with her"

"Then why do you guys follow her?"

"I'm sorry, it's not for me to say, but Harry, just stay away from Cedric, Lilah's crazy and won't stop" Amber flashed him a weak smile

"I can't, I'm not going to give Cedric up" Harry said defiantly, Amber looked back down to the ground and sighed "Amber, why does she obsess over Cedric?"

"I'm not completely sure if I should say..." Amber trailed off

"Please? It could help her and me" Amber thought about what Harry was talking about and conceded

"It all stems from when Cedric saved her from the Whomping Willow after that she begun to feel stronger and stronger feeling for him, and Lilah's never been a good person when it comes to something she wants, but the nail in the coffin was when she went to a seer and the seer told her pursuing Cedric would lead to eternal happiness and something snapped in her, and then she always tried to be with him and anyone who got in her way, they ended up falling down some stairs" Amber finished, Harry thought about what she said, the only thing he could think of was to stay away from stairs, but was brought out from those thoughts when Amber continued "You should get going Harry, I think Lilah's staying in here, Jade might leave and walk around but I'll try and get her to stay here"

"Thank you Amber" she gave him a nod and Harry walked away her, on the way back to his compartment he decided to pull up his collar on his robe, to prevent people from seeing the reddening starting to form along his neck line, he continued walking, worrying about everything; Lilah, Alex, Sirius and of course the Dursleys, Harry would have loved to never see them again or to live with Sirius or for Cedric to know about Alex and Sirius, but that wasn't now and that upset Harry. He reached his compartment before he knew it, he forced a smile onto his face, but something flashed past him, a shroud of black, at first he thought it was a Dementor and begun to worry but he saw it wasn't there any more, Harry shrugged it off and walked into the compartment to see just Cho and Cedric, they were talking about their holidays and plans

"Harry!" Cedric got up and hugged him tightly

"Cedric, I was only gone for a few minutes" Harry said hugging back just as tight

"I know" Cedric smiled down to Harry, Cho coughed to get their attention, Harry felt suddenly very silly, Cedric was a little annoyed at her for breaking off the hug

"So Harry, I was talking to Cedric about that coin, pretty awesome spell!" Cho smiled

"Yeah, I mean its good and all" Harry tried to bring the conversation away from that. which Cho allowed "So what about this world cup going on?"

"Oh it's going to be the best one for a long time, I bet!" Cedric smiled, he leaned closer to Harry and Harry savoured, this feeling of feeling safe, and he leaned closer to Cedric. They all sat like that for a while, till Luna, Hermione and Ron had returned, then sadly Cedric and Harry pulled apart and allowed everyone to shuffle in, Ron was annoyed, it seemed him and Dean were still annoyed with each other, Luna and Hermione found Ron stomping his way back to their compartment, and decided to calm him down before he went back in, in truth, Hermione wanted to give Harry a little more time with Cedric, as who knows how long they'll stay apart. Once everyone had settled back into their conversations everything was amazing, Harry and Cedric couldn't flat out hold each other but they managed to hook a few fingers together and give them a squeeze, Ron's spirits were lifted, sitting amongst friends and talking rather than yelling at each other, the train started to slow and some prefects walked past

"The train will be arriving in London shortly, please collect all your processions!" and they continued walking down, the compartment broke into a hive of movement with people reaching for stuff and grabbing bits of rubbish, Luna shouted

"Oh no! I can't find my magazine, I think I left it outside!" and she walked off to go grab the magazine, Cedric spotted a chance to embrace Harry, he thrust forward and grabbed Harry and kissed him, which Harry fought back just as hard, kissing deeply, Harry didn't know when he'd get to kiss or hold Cedric again and so he wanted this to last for as long as it could, when they both felt the train stop, they pulled away. Everyone was piling out of the train, wanting to see loved ones and go home, when Harry got off the train he saw Ron rushing towards his mum and dad, along with Ginny, Fred, George and Percy, Cedric strode over to his father and mother who hugged him tightly, Molly spotted Harry and ushered him over, when he reached her, she wrapped her arms around him and hugged him just as tightly as if he was her own son

"Oh Harry it is good to see you again!" Molly cheered

"Hi Mrs Wealsey!" Harry beamed at her, Molly dragged Harry into the circle of redheads and they all shook his hands, even though they'd got off the train together, but again in the sea of people he saw this black shroud, then he heard a scream, everyone turned to see Jade had blue hair, Amber was trying to calm her down and Lilah didn't care. Soon everything died down and everyone begun to make their way home, Harry walked to the end of the station, waiting for the Dursleys but they weren't there yet, Molly asked him if he wanted to come back with them but he said he would wait for the Dursleys and she left with a heavy heart, Harry felt guilty about having Hedwig locked up in a cage for even longer, so he asked the Weasleys to take her with them. He sat there for a long time, waiting for the Dursleys but still they didn't come and now it was beginning to look like they weren't coming at all, Harry sat down on the curb and sighed, wondering what he'd do now, when he saw the black shroud again, he reached for his wand readying to defend himself from a Dementor when he saw Alex stood there

"Alex?!" Harry shouted, Alex took a seat next to him

"Hey" Alex said awkwardly

"What you doing here?"

"Got some business to take care of" Harry knew better than to ask "What you doing here Harry? Shouldn't you be back with those Dundleys?"

"Its Dursleys, and yeah, but they haven't come for me" Harry looked down at the ground, Alex placed a hand on his shoulder

"Harry, isn't there anyone you can go visit?"

"I could go see if the Ron'll let me come stay with him for a bit, but I don't know how to get to Devon..." Harry looked up to look at Alex who was producing a note from his pocket

"Hmm, I'm headed Ottery St. Catchpole, which I think is in Devon, so I suppose that might help?"

"That's awesome, Ottery is where they live!" Harry smiled at him, Alex smiled back

"Come on, there's this owl service here but its pretty bad, it'd take a day to get to them and where would you stay till then?" Alex stood up along with Harry, Harry looked at his processions and wondered how he was supposed carry all this with him to Devon, but Alex begun to pick up the stuff and dropping in into this backpack he had, Harry was amazed at how much he was able to fit into it

"How did you do that?" Harry asked as they walked to the owl service

"A charmed bag, useful for fitting lots of stuff in small spaces, I tend to not use it loads" when they reached the owl service, there was an old man in a faded outfit, he was reading a newspaper, Alex and Harry walked up to him "Hello, me and my friend want to send an owl to the Weasleys?" Alex said, asking Harry if he had said the Weasley's correctly, which Harry nodded to "Yeah the Wesleys, they live in Devon"

"Of course, what do you wish to send?" The old man asked, finishing his page of the newpaper

"This note" Harry handed him a note he quickly wrote telling the Weasleys about the Dursleys, he'd be travelling to Devon with Alex and he'd be there in two days, the old man placed the note into an envelope

"That'll be two sickles and three knuts" Harry handed the man the money, they both said their thanks and walked away, Harry was excited to be travelling, and plus he'd get to find out a little more about Alex.


	6. Chapter 6

_**Hey guys! I've got an idea for a sort of mini thingy, it's hard to explain, but I'll feature it at the end, I'd love to hear what you guys thought about it :)**_

_**New Magic**_

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"So where we going?" Harry said, he and Alex were stood outside Kings Cross Station, when they sent off the note to the Weasleys, they walked outside, and when they reached outside Alex had stopped and pulled another note from his pocket, he begun to read it carefully and here they were, Harry was looking around to see if a car or anything like that were coming for them

"Harry" Alex said, Harry turned to face him "Harry I need you to stick with me, we're going to use the floo network but it'll be in an old building and then we'll have to walk to Ottery"

"Couldn't we use the network and go straight to Ron's house?" Harry asked

"We could, you know the name of the house?"

"Erm, no not really" Harry didn't really think the Weasley household had a name, a house that looked like that didn't really need a name

"Looks like we're walking then!" Alex laughed, they walked back inside the station and walked past the old man again, Harry waved to him but he was behind the newspaper again, the station still had people in it but not as much as it once was when Harry first arrived. He had no idea what the time was, to Harry it felt like it'd been an hour when it'd actually been two going onto three "Ah here we are" Alex said, they were stood outside a room which said on the door 'PRIVATE STAFF ONLY' Alex knocked on the door three times and said "The crow flies to the east"

"The hawk flies to the west" A voice boomed out from behind the door, the door swung open and a tall, stocky man, was stood there, he was wearing the same faded blue uniform which the old man wore, the tall man stood aside and Alex walked in, Harry followed him. The room looked like it had been hastily converted into a floo network room, a few fireplaces and a woman wearing the same uniform, stood by the fireplaces, reading some magazine, the blinds along the windows were all closed, all that lit the room was a few candles each were doing their own thing as the evening was beginning to fall "The first one is free" the tall stocky man said and walked over to a steel chair and sat down

"Here Harry" Alex handed him a piece of paper with a name scribbled on it

"The inn of green vine?" Harry said, confused as to why Alex had handed him this piece of paper

"That's where we're flooing to" Alex said and walked to the first fireplace "See you in a minute!"

"Wait Alex!"

Alex threw down the sliver powder into the fire and shouted "The Inn Of Green Vine!" and he was gone in a flash of green fire, Harry shielded his eyes a little while the man and woman didn't flinch at all, Harry was alone in this room, with the woman stood by doing nothing and the man was sitting in his chair and Harry was pretty sure he was asleep. The fire was still going strong, feeling brave, Harry through into the green flames, then it hit him, the speed of the floo network and why he hated it, Harry felt like his was swimming in this blackness and he wanted to pull his arms out and try and swim but the words of Mrs Weasley echoed in his mind 'Keep your elbows close to your body at all times!' Harry fought the urge to swim, he closed his eyes but he knew what was going on around him, other people whizzing past him and behind him, all using the floo network. Thankfully Harry's speed begun to decrease and he opened his eyes to see a green fire awaiting him, he got ready to stand up, but when he left the network, he was flung outwards from the fireplace, Alex was nearby, patting the dirt off his body and cursing 'Bloody buggers, stupid morons' Harry looked around to see the fireplace he came from was crumbling and cracking, the Inn wasn't there, there was a sign with 'Green Vine' scratched out but around Harry there was no walls or anything else to make it seem as there once was an inn here. The ground was mainly made up of dry dirt, thanks to the scorching heat, the trees all around him were tall and beautiful with colours of green, orange, red and yellow. The light behind the trees was quickly fading, Harry stood up and walked over to Alex to see if he was okay

"Fuc-"

"Alex you okay?" Harry asked with worried eyes

"Oh yeah, just a little annoyed this portal still exists when it clearly isn't safe!" he raised a rock in his hand and threw it at the fireplace, which made it crack further but it didn't bother Alex, he felt better "So Harry we should get moving, need to find a safe place for tonight"

"Wait, we're sleeping outside? And what do we need to be safe from?" Harry ran to keep up with Alex who was running through the woods

"Yeah, the original plan was to stay in the inn, but now we need to find somewhere safe and comfortable" Alex shouted over his shoulder, Harry struggled to keep up with Alex, it was like he was some sort of super human

"Alex... Slow... Down" Harry struggled to say

"Hmm? Oh! Harry! Sorry I'm used to moving on my own" Alex slowed down to walk with Harry who was breathing heavily, the sun had gone down since they first left the fireplace "I think here's a good place" Harry dropped down onto the ground, he was so tried, running after Alex and then there was the emotional draining of the Dursleys not turning up. Alex begun to laugh

"What? Have I stepped in something?" Harry looked all around him looking for something horrible on him

"No, we're not sleeping down here, over there" Alex pointed northwards, Harry followed his finger to the mouth of a cave

"Great joke Alex..."But Alex wasn't joking, he was now walking to the cave "Alex!" Harry scrambled up and over to Alex

"Look" Alex grabbed his wand and light came from it, and he walked in. The cave was narrow and tight but the end was quite close to the entrance, making it the perfect place to sleep, Harry sat down, rubbing his eyes, Alex piled a load of twigs and leaves in the centre of the cave, raised his wand again and they caught alight

"Wow..." Still the marvel of magic hit Harry, but then it dawned on him, they weren't allowed to cast magic outside Hogwarts "Alex, you shouldn't cast magic" Harry yawned

"Don't worry, we're good" Alex said, he opened his bag and pulled a thin blanket and a small pillow "Here Harry, take these"

"But what about you?"

"Someone needs to stay up and keep watch" Harry gave him a worried look "In case of muggles" Alex added. Harry made himself comfortable and stared into the embers of the fire, today had been weird, so weird, Harry sat there praying to himself, that tomorrow would be at least a little more normal but with the Wizarding world, normal is weird.

Alex walked to the entrance to the cave, he sat down and hummed to himself, he listened to the cracking of the fire behind him, but he didn't hear Harry's deep breathing, he glanced over his shoulder to see Harry staring into the fire

"Harry? You okay?" Alex said, he'd come back into the cave, hoping to strike up a conversation with Harry

"Yeah, just been a rough day" Harry said quietly

"Want to talk about it?" Alex was holding his hands to the fire

"Just Lilah" Harry sighed

"Lilah's that bitch, right?"

"Yeah, she and her lackies tried again to get to me, but I was okay, thanks to a certain someone" Harry gave Alex a smile who blushed

"Sorry I thought it was the right thing to do" Alex said meekly

"No, thank you, I could have been hurt and you stopped it" Harry said, Alex felt pride and happiness knowing he'd protected Harry, his friends "So what about that thing you said to that guy in the floo office?"

"It's code, that place is very busy during the day, its an emergency floo portal, the code I used was asking the guy if there was any free fireplaces, if loads of people were queuing up outside the office, people would get suspicious so the codes there to invite people in and to send others away"

"And then the Inn, what was about that? And this mission?"

"Woah, calm down Harry, too many questions"

"Sorry" Harry stared further into the fires, not wanting to look at Alex, and Alex sighed

"The Inn isn't very important, its the fireplace, my mission or quest or whatever, it requires me to be hidden"

"But why?" Alex raised his finger

"All in due time Harry, now get some sleep, we've got a a little more to go tomorrow" Alex turned his back to Harry, Harry turned away from the fire, he wasn't hungry, but he was very tired.

Alex sat there staring out into the night, when he heard Harry's deep breathing, he walked to the cave entrance carrying his bag, he pulled out the old book and laid it across his knees, he pulled it open and begun to read it throughout the night.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Everyone had just finished their dinner in the Weasley household, Ginny was walking up the stairs to her bedroom, going to sleep as today had been a long day. They'd all received news that Charlie and Bill were going to visit soon, which made Molly and Ginny very excited, everyone else was very excited too but Molly and Ginny were the ones who showed it.

Ron, Fred and George were sitting in the living room, they were all annoyed at Percy, he'd said something about Professor Lupin and how the ministry should hunt him down, which angered Ron the most, as it wasn't Lupin's fault that he attacked them, Fred and George joined because they didn't like Percy much anyway, Arthur stepped in when they were getting extremely aggressive and a fight looked like it would break out, and the boys knew better than to test Arthur. Percy went up into his room, mumbling about how much he couldn't wait to leave The Burrow, Molly was in the kitchen, sitting with Arthur, enjoying a relaxing cup of tea

"That was a lovely dinner Molly" Arthur said, he rubbed his hand along hers

"Yes, I suppose" Molly had been in some sort of trance ever since they left the station

"Molly, what's wrong?" Arthur asked, worried about his wife

"Just Harry" Arthur nodded to her, knowing what she meant, they hated leaving Harry with those Dursleys, and this year had been even worse, Lupin had given them some details but from what he told Sirius promised Harry he'd come back for him and take him away from the Dursleys, but it'd all broken at the last minute when Peter Pettigrew, their rat, had escaped, Lupin blamed himself because if he didn't transform they'd have Peter in custody, and so Lupin really resigned to find Peter, to make it up to Sirius and Harry. Molly tried to stop him but she knew it was useless and gave him some food and wished him good luck, and told him if he ever needed anything, to come back here.

She was brought out from her thoughts when a black owl, a ministry owl, appeared at the window, tapping on it wildly, she opened the window, the owl flew inside the house, dropped an envelope and then flew back out. Everyone in the house come downstairs to see what was an owl doing coming to them at such a late time, the only people who could send a letter this late was Bill and Charlie, which got everyone worried apart from Percy, who knew a ministry owl when he saw one. Nervously Molly opened the envelope, everyone held their breaths, till Molly breathed in a deep breath "Its okay everyone! Its Harry"

"Hang on, why would Harry be sending us a note?" Ron asked worryingly

"Oh dear..." Molly said, Ron ran to her side, trying to get a glimpse of the note "Ron! Give me a chance to read it!" Ron backed off, giving her some space to finish the note, when she did finish it, she put it down on the table which Ron snapped straight up, his eyes scanning the note, everyone knew he was done when they heard

"Those sons of-"

"Ron!" Molly shouted, she continued with "Everyone go to your bedrooms, your father and I want to talk, alone!" everyone knew she was in a mood now and all ran up into their rooms, Ron was already inside his room

"So what's happened to Harry?" Arthur asked

"The Dursleys never picked him up!" Molly nearly screeched

"Those rotten buggers!" Arthur watched his language as he didn't know whether the kids were actually asleep or just listening in on their conversation, he reached for his jacket which was on the back of his chair "Come on, let's go get Harry"

"No, its okay, he said he's travelling with a friend, someone called Alexander" Arthur dropped his jacket and sat down in his chair

"Did he say which Alexander? Anything distinctive about him? Is Harry safe?"

"No Arthur! Now calm down, what's got you so worked up?" Molly asked, getting up to make another cup of tea for her husband, he looked paler than before

"It's, I don't want it to be the Alexander I'm thinking of" Arthur said quietly

"What's wrong, this Alexander sounds very nice" Molly grabbed her husband's cup

"He's Alexander, he's an Artena" Molly's cup echoed through the house as it dropped and crashed into a million pieces.

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Harry woke up with a fright, the fire had died down and without his glasses he couldn't see very well at all "Where..." Harry grounded out, the pillow and blanket helped remove some of the uncomfort, but still sleeping in a cave is horrible

"Harry, you're awake" Alex said quietly, he was pulling his bag towards Harry, he thrust his hand inside and pulled out some bread, he broke half off and gave it to Harry "Sorry it's not a lot, I didn't pack loads to eat"

"No this is good" Harry said, chewing on the bread

"If I find anything else, I'll be sure to hand it back to you, just this bag is full of random stuff" Alex said, trying to hold back his laughter

"What, what's so funny?" Harry mumbled

"Ginger packed my bag and Dobby helped, there's a lot of weird stuff" Alex said, now not able to hold back his laughter

"What did they pack?" Harry asked, wondering what they'd put in a bag

"Well Ginger told Dobby to pack someone of my spare clothes" Alex reached into his bag and pulled out hundreds of socks "Poor Dobby only found my socks so he packed it full of them" Alex and Harry begun to laugh. Once they finished their bread, Harry folded up the blanket, Alex dusted away the ashes of the fire, he took the blanket and pushed it into the bag allow with the pillow "We should reach Ottery soon"

"Awesome, let's get going then" Harry raised his glasses to his eyes and begun to walk out the cave with Alex following behind

"Let's not go straight ahead I think I heard people" Alex said and walked to the left of the cave, before Harry could argue Alex was already gone and climbing up the hill in which housed the cave

"But Alex-" Harry argued

"What was the first rule?" Alex shouted down to Harry

"Follow you..." Harry said begrudgingly, Harry huffed and got ready to climb up when Alex shouted back down to him again

"You can stay down there, I'm just getting my bearings" Alex kept climbing the hill, it wasn't a mountain but you had to be careful to not fall, when Alex reached the top, he used his hand to form a visor, Harry was stood by the entrance, looking down himself, he was still in his robes, he felt the need to freshen up, he thought there was a stream just ahead, it wasn't much, but it was something. Alex told him to stay away, but Harry wasn't afraid of people like Alex was, so he thought he could just shrug them off, Harry did used to be like Alex, but thanks to his friends, that trait died away. Harry begun to walk forwards, Alex was still atop the hill, staring out, the hill was just taller than the trees nearby, which gave Alex the chance to see a small town just north of where he was stood, Harry felt colder as he walked to where he thought the stream was, a crunch was sounded under his foot, he looked down to see ice, thick and cold, he looked ahead to see the stream frozen, in a small radius, it looked like a winter wonderland, it felt like it wasn't summer at all or there was a sun as the ice stood proud and true, Harry jumped when he felt a hand grab his shoulder, he spun to see Alex smiling "I know where we're headed-" Alex looked away from Harry, his face wasn't as worried as Harry's, he dropped to a crouch and grabbed the ice

"What made this?" Harry asked, worried

"Hmm? I'm not sure, let's go" Alex begun to run towards the cave then took a left and continued, Harry struggled to keep up with him, he kept shouting to Alex to slow down, but it was like he wasn't listening, he just kept speeding along, Harry had to stop for a breath, but Alex kept going

"Alex!" Harry yelled, getting scared, he was alone in the woods, he walked after Alex, wondering how he had so much speed, he was nearing the end of the woods, the sun shining brightly ahead of him. He burst through the thick trees and saw Alex sat on a large boulder "How are you so fast?" Harry breathed out

"Its called puberty, Harry" Alex laughed

"What?" Harry questioned

"You don't know about, it?" Alex said, confused

"No I do, but how does it make you faster?"

"Trust me, you'll get faster, faster than me" Alex slapped Harry's back and continued walking "There" Alex pointed to the town in front of him, but Harry's eyes were drawn to the large house, its misshapen walls, it was a welcoming sight, compared to caves and ice "Is that their house Harry?"

"Yeah, its pretty cool" Harry smiled to Alex

"I must say, its pretty awesome looking"

"Alex, I just want to say, thank you" Harry stretched his hand out for Alex to shake, who accepted it gladly

"Any time Harry" Alex smiled to him and gave his hand a squeeze "Come on, let's get to these Wosold's" Alex walked to the misshapen house

"It's Weasleys!" Harry shouted, with new energy, he begun to run the house.

When they reached the house, Harry was unsure what to do, he was hoping for someone to be outside, so he didn't have to knock on the door, Alex kept giving a confused look as they walked all around the house, giving up, Harry knocked on the door three times, when he heard running he was met with many redheads

"Harry I'm sorry about those stupid Dursleys!" Ron nearly shouted, he pulled Harry into a hug, after he and Cedric got together, Harry was worried Ron would show less affection, but it seems that he wasn't going to treat Harry any different, which brought a smile to his face "And this is Alexander?" Ron looked at Alex, who, since the door opened, had stepped backwards, hoping to slip away "Thanks for taking care of Harry" Ron said quickly

"Harry!" Molly shouted, pulling him into a deep hug, she gave Alex a dirty look, who looked down to the ground "Oh Harry you are okay, aren't you? Come in for some breakfast"

"Can Alex come in too?" Harry asked sweetly, Molly tensed up but still she said a quick 'yes', Harry turned to Alex, who was rooted to the ground, Harry grabbed his arm and pulled him into the house, everyone was on one side of the table, far away from him and Alex

"Harry you should sit up here" Arthur said, looking at Alex, Alex dropped his bag down on the table and thrust his hand inside "What are you doing!" Arthur shouted, holding his wand along with Molly

"Harry's stuff" Alex ground out, he pulled out the large trunk and the rest of his processions

"What's going on here?" Harry asked, at this stalemate

"He's a Artena! A monster!" Ron shouted

"I'm not!" Alex shouted, he turned to Harry "I'm not Harry..." Harry stepped away from him, trusting the Weasleys, Alex sighed and turned to the ground, everyone flinched when he looked up "I thought you were different Harry, yes I am a Artena, I wish I wasn't though, don't worry, you won't have to worry about me any more!" Alex bellowed, he ran out the door, Harry ran to the door to see, Alex running down the hill, Alex looked to Harry and Harry could see he had tears in his eyes

"Arthur..." Molly said "Do you think he was telling the truth?" She lowered her wand and turned away from everyone and begun to cook, breakfast was a silent affair, everyone wondering if they did what was right.

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_**WWW (Wizarding World Woes!)**_

Ginger: Dobby what did clothes did you pack for Alex?

Dobby: Plenty of clothes!

Ginger: Well I think I suppose wash his spare ones... DOBBY!

Dobby: Don't hurt Dobby!

Ginger: I'm not going to hurt Dobby, I'M GOING TO KILL HIM!

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_**There, Wizarding World Woes, I want it to be a comedic relief, as the story is going to be sad, darkish and not child friendly, so I hope this helps make it seem a little more brighter, this also adds in, DUN DUN DUUUN! A CHANCE FOR YOU GUYS TO GIVE INPUT! WOOOO! What I mean is, I have this Tumblr page and I thought maybe people could tell me what they'd like or give me, for WWW, if not, it was just an idea, Have an awesome day! **_


	7. Chapter 7

_**This chapter I was really stuck on how to open it up but I think I've done it justice, and I hope everyone likes Alex :) and where this story is headed. Thanks to PrincessAngleBabyX3, Charlie94, Anna C. Black-Potter, and Dhuron, for getting sorted into Gryffindor! **_

_**Sorry**_

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After Alex left, everyone felt they'd done something wrong, Harry felt worst of them all, Alex had got him here to the Weasleys, he'd even protected him against Lilah, and now he'd turned his back on him for something he didn't understand, Harry wasn't sure what an Artena was, but Arthur and Molly had warned him and tried to protect him but something inside him just felt horrible. He'd shuffled into the living room along with the Wesleys the only sound was the footsteps of everyone walking into the living room, they all found their own seats and sat there in silence again, the air had become stagnant all of a sudden and Harry wanted to leave , when he walked over to the door no one really looked up, it was when the door closed behind him did Molly look up, the people who looked the worst were Molly, Ron and Fred, Ginny didn't really understand what was going on, Percy didn't really care but he threw in a gloom look so as to not upset his family further, Arthur's face was bland, he'd done what he had to, to protect his family and Harry, but still he felt guilty inside, not giving Alex the chance to explain or talk, at the time Arthur thought it was a trick but the more he thought about it, the more he felt guilty. Well it was too late to do anything about it now, that Alex had left and disappeared into the forest close by, just next to the wide fields which surrounded Arthur's home. After a while Percy left and went into his room, Ginny soon went into her room, she managed to pull her mother along, she wanted to try and cheer her up, maybe with some girly stuff, all that remained was Arthur, Ron, George and Fred, sick of the silence, Ron walked out to the garden to see if he could talk with Harry, when he got to the door handle, Fred was next him "Fred?"

"Yeah?" Ron let go of the handle, instead Fred reached for it and opened it, Ron looked back to the living room, he saw George hadn't moved a muscle, neither had his dad, sighing he left the house and went into the garden, he scanned around looking for Harry, he saw him sitting on a log, staring at the ground, Fred was sat next him, also staring at the ground. Ron decided to try and talk to Harry, he walked over to him and sat down next to him, he looked to Fred he continued looking at the ground

"Harry?" Ron touched Harry's upper arm gently

"I never gave him a chance to explain..." Harry said quietly

"You didn't need to-" Harry jumped up and threaded his hands through his hair

"I did! He got me here, he looked out for me! And I threw him away" Harry felt horrible inside, he knows what it feels like to have someone turn their back on you "I'm not even sure what a Artena is" Harry said, Ron was the one to look too the ground, Fred finally looked up

"Why don't you ask him?" Fred said

"We have no idea where'd be" Ron said before Harry could say anything

"You'd come with me?" Harry asked, he had an idea where he thought Alex was, but he thought he'd be going by himself

"Yeah I don't want you going by yourself" Harry gave him a glare, he knew that Ron meant Alex was dangerous

"I'm fine" Harry said coldly, his best friend, looked back to the ground, feeling he'd crossed some line, when all he did was try and protect his friend

"Harry-" it was Harry's turn to cut off Ron

"No, he's not dangerous, if he wanted to hurt me or kill me, he'd done it, he stood watch over me throughout the night, it would have been easy for him to just kill me then!" Harry shouted at Ron, once he was finished he immediately felt guilty, most of that rage was because Harry was mad at himself

"If you want to reach him, you best leave now" Fred said quietly, he continued "Mum and Dad wouldn't let either of you go after him, so I'll cover for you two, but hurry" he got up and walked over to house, before he went inside, he turned to Harry and Ron and gave them a wave, he then disappeared inside the house, Harry got up and walked away, to the forest, Ron was following him, they walked quietly for a few moments when Ron caught up to Harry

"Harry, I'm sorry for judging him before I knew him"

"Its not me, who you- we need to apologise to" Harry picked up his pace, with his best friend at his side, his spirits lifting a little, but still something inside was worried about all this.

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"Harry?" Ron said worryingly, they were walking though the forest, Ron didn't think this was such a great idea, his parents not knowing they'd gone and no one else knowing where they'd gone "Harry?" again Ron asked, since they entered the forest, Harry had gone quiet like into a sort of trance, Ron was going to ask Harry if he was okay, when he felt a cold air settle over him like a blanket, Harry felt it too, as he stopped where he was

"I think Alex's just beyond here, are you sure you want to come with me Ron?" Harry asked quietly, he didn't want Ron to freak out half way and make this whole thing worse

"Yeah, I'm with you" Ron said, Harry gave him a nod and continued walking into the grove which he thought Alex was hiding, the cold air had since intensified, but maybe that was because of the hot summer day he was used to? Harry wasn't so sure, he pulled back a bush to reveal the still frozen stream, Harry walked over to it, with Ron following nervously behind

"What are you doing here?" A cold voice said, Harry looked beyond the stream to see Alex sitting next to a tree "Are you here to stab me in the back again?" Harry looked to the ground along with Ron, ashamed and nervous "Are you here to pretend you're my friend, to make me feel like an idiot!" He shouted

"Alex..." Harry tried to keep him calm

"I'm done with people! I'm done with this! Being... This!" Alex shouted, he stood up getting ready to leave, when Harry pounded over to him and grabbed his arm

"Alex! I'm sorry!" He shouted at him, hoping the volume of his voice would convey his sorrow, he said it again, to try one more time "I'm sorry" he said this time quietly, Alex had shrugged off his grip, for a moment Harry thought he was going to leave anyway until he heard Alex ask him quietly

"You mean it?"

"Yes, I do" Harry said, Alex took a seat in front of a tree and rubbed his eye with his sleeve, Harry took a seat nearby, Ron was still across from the stream, still nervous, Harry thought he was going to run, but Ron proved him wrong when he took a deep breath and walked over to Harry, he gave Alex his hand

"Hello, I'm Ronald Weasley" he said, parts of his voice breaking from nervousness, Harry looked at him with utter disbelief, Alex too, he took Ron's hand

"Alexander" Ron took a seat next to Harry and he calmed down

"Alex, what's an Artena?" Harry blurted out, feeling stupid, he clasped a hand over his mouth and Alex laughed at him

"Its hard to explain Harry, what do you know of them Ronald?" Harry laughed, only when Ron was in trouble, Alex looked at him weirdly, Ron laughed too, Alex gave them both weird looks and laughed with them, they stopped when rustling could be heard from where Harry and Ron appeared, another two redhead's appeared, Fred and George, they both looked down to the ground

"Hey" George said, throwing a wave to the group of boys, Fred remained silent and staring to the ground, Harry and Ron waved to them, George and Fred walked over to the stream and stayed there "Everyone's looking for you two, we'd figured you'd left to find.." George couldn't bring himself to say Alex's name, nervous and afraid but also guilty

"Why don't you gu-" Ron started but was cut off when they all heard a scream, it was coming from nearby, "Ginny!" Ron shouted, they all ran to where they heard the scream, with Ron leading the way, they'd headed into the deeper parts of the forest, they burst through a thick bush to see Ginny and Molly backed up to a huge rock wall, Molly's wand was close to the bear, in front of them was the largest bear any of them had seen, it had a thick brown coat and was about the size of a horse, with black eyes and sharp teeth but everyone noticed its claws were golden

"A golden bear?!" Fred exclaimed, it didn't seem to show them any interest, focused on Molly and Ginny, Harry and Ron raised their wands to strike at the beast, Fred and George grabbed their hands "What do you think you're doing?" Fred shouted

"That bear is incredibly strong, any spell we could throw at it would be useless" George continued for him

"Then what should we do? Let Ginny and mum get hurt?" Ron said annoyed and scared

"Maybe we could find dad?" Fred said, becoming more and more scared at the situation, they all heard the bear roar and knew it was going to charge, it raised onto its hind legs and landed back down, then it pawed the ground, preparing it for its run

"At roseae niveo residebant pugno!" Alex shouted, his wand raised, a blast of ice appeared and slammed into the bear, it was pushed away from Ginny and Molly "Over here!" Alex shouted, running to them, the bear roared and tried to move but its front, left leg was frozen to the ground, Molly and Ginny ran Alex "Stay over there with them!" he ran to the bear

"Alex!" Harry shouted

"I'll deal with the bear, stay back!" Alex shouted

"We'll go find the others" Fred and George disappeared and running could be heard, the bear had broke free of its icy prison and roared at Alex

"Hello ugly" he said coldly, it swung its paw at him and he dived out the way, he jumped to his feet but he wasn't quick enough when the bear slammed into him, Alex grunted and hit the ground "I suppose that's payback?" he laughed off the pain, Molly and Ginny gasped, Alex raised up from the ground "No more mister nice guy" the bear charged for him, hoping to slam into the ground again "At roseae niveo residebant pugno!" Alex shouted four times and they counted with the bear legs, freezing it to the ground, before it had a chance to move again a final spell was thrown at the beast, it collapsed under the stress of the ice and gave up trying to escape, Alex put away his wand and saw Molly, Ginny, Ron and Harry staring at him "So that's an Artena, Harry" he said, laughing awkwardly, trying to shrug off the looks everyone was giving him, everyone jumped when they heard Arthur, Percy, Fred and George come running in to see the frozen beast and Alex stood next to it, Arthur stepped over to the bear, with everyone else staying with Molly

"You stopped this bear?" he said, looking at it's frozen limbs, he reached for Molly's forgotten wand and picked it up

"Yeah" Alex said, now his turn to feel nervous

"Why?" Arthur stood up to face Alex

"I saw it was going to get them, so I stepped in to help" he said, Arthur reached out and placed his hand on Alex's shoulder

"Thank you for saving my family" Alex smiled, everyone cheered and came over to Alex, apart from Fred and Percy "I'm going to call Dumbledore, ask him about this bear"

"Let's all go to the house and have a nice cup of tea" Molly said, she clasped a hand on Alex's shoulder and gave it a squeeze, Arthur gave her back her wand

"Come on Alex, we can give you a game of Quidditch!" Ron said, with Harry, George and Ginny nodding, Alex laughed

"I'm sorry, I need to be going" Everyone looked down "I have to been some where, but I'm glad I stayed around" he gestured to the fallen bear

"You sure you can't stay for one cup of tea?" Molly asked, feeling she owed him something, she'd branded him a monster and then he saved her and Ginny

"I'm sorry, I have to be going, but it was a pleasure to meet you all" he turned to the thicker part of the forest

"But Alex, your bag? Come get it and stay a while?" Harry asked, again Alex laughed

"I come back for it later, right now I have to get going" Harry's smiled broke into a frown "Hey, how about this, I send you some mail, okay?" Alex turned again to forest when he was stopped again, by Molly

"Alex, I just wanted to say-" Arthur stood by her along with Fred, George and Ron "We, wanted to say, we're sorry about earlier and hope you'll come back?" She asked

"I will do" he said and ran off into the woods before anyone else could interrupt him.

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After Alex had left everyone headed back to the Burrow in high spirits, when they walked in they all sat down in the kitchen, sipping at their cup of tea, everyone wore a smile, apart from Percy who had gone back into his room, Fred had gone up into his bedroom, saying he didn't feel very well, everyone knew how he felt, and Arthur went into the living room to use some floo powder to tell Dumbledore about the bear along with the ministry. Harry was worried about Molly and Ginny still, but he didn't have a chance to ask, as Ron had dragged him over to the door

"Come on! Let's have a game of Quidditch!" Ron said excitedly

"Ah! Ron!" Harry batted away his friend's hand, rubbing the spot where he gripped a little too hard "Any one else coming?" he said to the family

"I'm going to go check on Fred, make sure he's okay" George said

"I'll go check on him George, go on, have fun with Ron and Harry" Molly said, clearing away the cups

"Thanks mum, Ginny you coming with us?" George said as he reached for the keys to the shed which housed the brooms

"I'll watch you guys" she said quietly, everyone gathered by the door and left, all that were left were Molly, Arthur had just come back from talking with Dumbledore and Amos Diggory, Molly left the cups in the sink, she decided to wash them later, right now she wanted a sit down and a cuddle from her husband after seeing that bear, she walked over to him, he knew she wanted one, and held her arms out for a deep hug. When they pulled apart, Molly took a seat next to Arthur

"Molly what happened, you should have been able to take down the bear" Arthur asked

"Ginny had run off thinking she heard Harry and Ron, I ran after her, when we appeared in this clearing, we looked all around from where she might have heard the voices, I put down my wand for second and this bear come from no where, my first thought was of Ginny and I saw her frozen in front of the bear, I grabbed and pulled her away from it, I was going to grab my wand back, the bear cut me off and thankfully Harry, Ron, Fred, George and Alex turned up" She finished, taking a breath

"Are you sure that you're okay?" Arthur, concern lacing his voice

"Yes, yes, now what did Dumbledore and Amos say?" Molly asked, wanting to move past everyone asking her is she was okay

"Dumbledore didn't say much, just nodded and asked if you were okay" Molly gave him a glare "And Amos said he'd send some people to remove the bear and that it probably came from some private owner, the bear will be checked over with various tests" Arthur finished, they sat there enjoying the quiet, a cool breeze blew in, they could hear George, Ron, Ginny and Harry having a laugh, Molly still couldn't believe those Dursleys had left him behind, maybe living with Sirius could work, she'd often thought about taking Harry in but they struggle with Percy, Fred, George, Ron and Ginny, there's no way they could also afford for Harry, no matter how much they tried, and that upset Molly. She'd prided herself on helping others, it felt so alien to throw someone away and to be horrible to them when their last name was Malfoy, but now Molly hoped everything was okay and forgiven with Alex. Molly remembered she'd promised to go see if Fred was okay for George, so she got up and walked over to the stairs and walked up them to see what was wrong with one of her boys.

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"Brown noser!" George shouted over the table

"Stupid idiot!" Percy shouted back over to him

"Hey! Don't speak to George like that you kiss ass!" Fred shouted to Percy, it had just been dinner and everyone was winding down but Percy made some offhand comment, something about Fred and George's idea to open a joke shop and then they begun to argue, Harry, Ron shuffled into the living room where Arthur, Molly and Ginny were sitting down, watching the fire

"Screw you two, I'm going to bed!" Percy shouted whist storming up the stairs, two redheads appeared, very happy with themselves, walking into the living room. But the main thing troubling Harry's mind was telling them about him and Cedric, he wanted to tell Sirius but wasn't sure how he'd take it, or how to contact him, Ron and him had talked about it today, Ron was very flattered that he was worried about their opinions but that he shouldn't be as his family was very open minded and loved Harry no matter what. He felt the need to tell them as he didn't have any sercrets from the Weasleys, and he was hoping to see Cedric soon, he thought about waiting till tomorrow morning when Percy would be with them as well but to be honest he wasn't that close with him, he wasn't with Bill and Charlie either but they lived in a forgien country

"Er I want to say something" Harry stuttered out, everyone turned to look at him, making him feel very nervous

"You can do it Harry" Ron said quietly

"I-I-I" Harry continued to stutter, wondering if he was making the right choice

"Its okay Harry dear, take a deep breath and tell us" Molly said sweetly, Harry decided to take the blunt road

"I'm dating Cedric Diggory" his face felt as if it was sitting on hot coals, everyone looked at him

"Oh Harry, I thought it was something terrible" Molly said and everyone went back to doing what they were doing, making Harry smile, them not making a big deal out of this, maybe it was because they were all tired and were all ready for bed. The flapping of wings was heard nearby and scratching on the window next to the fireplace, everyone looked up to see a black owl with golden eyes holding a note, reading _Harry_, Arthur let the bird in and pulled off the note and handed the note to Harry, George and Fred started doing catcalls, Ron joined with them

"Harry why don't you go read it in the kitchen, a little more privacy" Molly said, aiming it the other boys, Harry nodded and went into the kitchen and unfurled the note

_Harry, are you okay? Did the bear hurt you? Why aren't you with your family? Did something happen, I'm worried about you, please be okay, please answer me back as soon as possible_

_Cedric_

Harry looked down at the note again and his heart burst, someone was so worried about him! And he felt a little horrible for Cedric as it would take a while for his note to get to him, Harry ran up to Ron's room as it had his trunk and all his things in it, Arthur had took it up while they were all playing Quidditch, Harry opened Ron's door, waved to the poster of the Chudley Cannons and ran to the trunk, when he noticed the paper and quill on Ron's desk, for the sake of convenience he used the paper

_I'm fine Cedric, don't worry I am a-okay! The whole bear thing is complicated, along with the family thing, sorry, but maybe I can see you soon?_

_Harry_

He let the note dry off and then ran back down stairs, Cedric's owl was still stood by the window, Molly and Ginny had given it some treats and it was relishing them, Harry rolled up the note and sent it with the owl, which flapped away into the night. Harry leaned on the windowsill and sighed, again he was met with catcalls for a moment Harry thought everyone was doing it

"Right, come on, time for bed everyone!" Arthur said, everyone got to their feet and walked up, it felt like an elevator, at every floor, some one got off at every floor, with everyone saying their good nights, Harry and Ron reached Ron's room, too tired to wave to the Chudley Cannons, they both flopped on their beds, but they regrettably got back up to get changed into their pyjamas, when Harry's head hit the pillow he was about to fall asleep when he heard Ron speak

"Harry, I'm sorry about Alex, I'm sorry about the Dursleys, I'm sorry about everything" Ron whispered

"Ron there's no need for you to be sorry, Alex is okay, and the Dursleys, well screw them, I'm happy to be here with you guys" Harry said, through the dark, Harry noticed Ron nodding, Harry again laid his head on his pillow and this time, he did fall asleep.

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Well there you guys go, there'll be a delay for the next chapter, it's my birthday in a few days, so yeah, have an awesome day and thanks for reading!


	8. Chapter 8

Hey guys I know its been a while since I last updated, the reason for that is because someone passed away, someone very close to my heart and I have been devastated. Their funeral was a few days ago and I decided to move forward as I know they wouldn't want me to stop my life because of them, so let's ride, let's do it!

_**Cedric...**_

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Harry awoke to the smell of bacon filling the room, Ron's bed was long since deserted, Harry laughed to himself, Ron always had a big stomach, Harry got up, feeling a cold air wash over him, he shivered, thinking it must be the morning air which was affecting him, he walked to the door and grabbed the handle, it burnt his hand, Harry pulled his hand away from the handle and looked at the door, he saw a light under the door flicker and go away, Harry this time grabbed a nearby towel, he turned to see the Chudley Cannons had disappeared, this only added to Harry's fears, he wrapped his hand inside the blanket and grabbed the handle again, he thought he'd feel some heat as the handle was incredibly hot, but it was just as cold as the air, he used his other hand to gently tap the handle, when he felt more confident he grabbed it, to feel its cold embrace, he turned the handle and yanked the door open. Beyond the door he saw the burned remains of the Burrow, he knew Fred and George's room was close, he ran down the stairs, each one crumbling below him, when he reached the twins room, he saw the smouldering remains of the door, and the ash covered letters 'Fed and Eore Roo' Harry rubbed away the ash to find it spelt in tiny handwriting 'Fred and George's room' , he pushed the door, which came away from its hinges and fell into the room with a loud bang, Harry peered into the room, all black and burnt, the smell of burning hanging in the air, Harry prayed to not see Fred and George's bodies laying there, and some divine power heard him, they weren't there, Harry thought about searching the room to see if he could find any evidence about who did this, when he heard the floorboards creak, he jumped back into the hallway, just in time, to see the room collapse into a black hole. Harry continued to search each room, to find no Weasleys any where, Harry begun to panic, and he shouted "Is anyone here?"

"Yes! Harry? Harry!" He heard a voice say, it sounded like Cedric voice, Harry turned to see if he could see his boyfriend in this smoky house, when he felt someone or something, pounce on him and snarl at him, he couldn't make out what it was, but whatever it was, he jumped on him and pushed him through the floor, he fell through darkness to land, hard, on a floor, stone floor, he looked up to see he was in a dark corridor, it looked like a prison as there was many cells all around him. He looked ahead to see the cell in front of him had two people kneeling in front of a person, one was Cedric, the other Alex, Cedric had a puffed up eye and a ripped sleeve, Alex had a split lip and it looked like it was missing an eye, an eye-patch covering up one his eyes

"Now tell us where Harry Potter is!" A man in a black robe with a frightening mask covering his face, he had two others next to him, each with their own robes and mask, no one answered them, a boot was met with both of them, but still no answer "Hm, I suppose I could try that spell again..."

"No don't! He doesn't deserve this!" Cedric shouted, he was rewarded with a slap

"Tell me where Harry Potter is and I won't use the spell!" The man said again

"Don't Cedric!" Alex shouted, he was yanked to his feet, his hands pulled behind his back and held in place

"Last chance Mr Diggory!" the man said, pointing his wand at Alex's other eye, Cedric looked at Alex who kept shaking his head

"I... I'm not saying anything" Cedric said quietly and hung his head, Alex had stilled and he looked like he braced himself, for something, the man in the mask, laughed aloud

"I'm actually quite glad you said that!" The masked man's friends came over and held Alex in the same position as he was holding him, the man grabbed Alex's head and pointed his wand at his eye, Harry didn't quite hear what he said, all he saw was Alex collapsing to the ground and clutching at his eye and screaming

"No! Alex!" Cedric shouted He tried to get back up to help Alex but he was kicked again, he was met with howls of laughter, Alex was trying to stand but kept falling over, making them laugh more, the only one who wasn't laughing, he threw down another eye-patch, be snapped his fingers and then walked away, the two others followed after him, continuing to laugh. Cedric ran over and held Alex, who was whimpering and still clutching at his eye "Alex..."

"Cedric, it-it's too mu-much" He begun to cry, Cedric grabbed the eye patch and pulled it over Alex's eye, Cedric held him close and patted his head to make him feel better, Harry had begun to cry and demanded to know why his brain was doing this too him, someone grabbed Harry by the back of his shirt, they pulled him into the air, it was the man in the mask, his two friends behind him, they continued walking, Harry saw a green flash and two thuds, he raked and scratched at the hand holding him, to let him go, to let him try and see if Alex and Cedric were okay

"Let me go you bastard!" He shouted at the man

"I never swore" The man lifted his mask to reveal Harry behind the mask, he sneered and his face changed into the same shadowy demon which pounced on him, he dropped Harry and pointed down the corridor to a cell with people lying on the floor, dead, Harry looked closer to see redheads littering the floor, Harry begun to cry, deeply, the demon lifted him again and turned him around to look at the cell which Cedric and Alex were in, he kept his eyes shut, not wanting to see any more of his friends dead, the demon howled and slammed Harry to the cell "You will look at what you have done!" Harry peeked one eye open, he grasped and continued to cry when he saw Alex slumped against the wall, Cedric was on the floor not moving

"Alex!" Harry called to the form now slumping down from the wall, Harry was dropped again, he looked to see the form disappearing from sight into smoke, Harry leaned against the bars, to hear Cedric coughing "Cedric!"

"H-Harry?" He said slowly, his arm moved slightly

"Don't move!" Harry kicked at the door, it swung open, thankfully, he ignored the body of Alex and ran to Cedric, when he reached his side, Harry dropped to his knees and rubbed Cedric, Harry took a deep breath, at least he had Cedric, he looked over his boyfriend to check he was okay, when he looked at his feet, Harry clutched Cedric tightly, his feet were made of sand and disappearing, the sand was raising up Cedric "Cedric! Don't go, I need you!"

"Ha-" The sand had reached Cedric face and he disappeared, Harry burst out crying and laid down on the ground, giving up on everything, the floor felt hot, Harry turned his head to see Alex burst into flames along with the cell, all around him.

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"NOOO!" Harry shouted as he awoke from his dream, Ron jumped out of his bed and grabbed his wand and looking around his room, the sound of feet charging up the steps was heard and Ron's door was opened to show George and Fred armed with their wands running in, followed by Arthur coming in, Molly and Ginny stayed in the doorway

"Harry! What's wrong?" Molly came in to see Harry looking pale and clammy, everyone since had put their wands away, noticing they was no apparent danger, Harry felt hands, thinking they were still the demon he thrashed at them hoping to kill the bastard

"Harry! Harry!" Arthur shouted, holding his arms still so he couldn't hurt Molly, worried for his family, Arthur shouted to them too "Everyone into the kitchen!"

"I'm st-" Ron was cut off by Arthur

"Now Ron!" Ron gave his father an angry glare but he didn't dare argue with him, he stormed past his mother and his family and ran down the stairs, followed by Ginny, then Fred and finally George. Harry had begun to calm down and opened gently to make sure it wasn't the demon here to hurt him further, if that were possible, he saw the worried face of Mrs Weasley stood above him, he reached out and pulled her into a tight hug and he didn't ever think about letting go

"Harry, what's wrong dear?" Molly asked, patting him gently on the back, she knew whatever was upsetting him was big as he always struggled against her massive hugs, she allowed him to take a few breaths before she quizzed him again "Harry, dear..."

"I had a nightmare..." Harry said quietly, feeling very childish for his outburst

"Come on Harry, let's get a drink and talk about it" Arthur said firmly, knowing Harry didn't like people fussing about him, but Arthur knew that this wasn't any normal nightmare. When they left the room, Harry expected to see everything again in ashes and crumbling apart but he was met with the same old, ricky and magical stairs and hallway of the Burrow, at each room he passed, he checked inside to make sure everyone was still downstairs and safe, he didn't check Percy's as there was a sign on the front saying 'DO NOT DISTURB' and also Harry could hear his gentle snoring. When Harry reached the ground floor, he had another look around the living room to check everything was okay, and it was, the sofas were still there, their vibrant colours still glowing slightly by the embers of the fire, a blanket was on the floor, he also saw two knocked over mugs and some dark patchs on the carpet, before they came to check on Harry it looked like they were having a moment together, now he felt even more childish and guilty that everyone had been woken up because of his nightmare, he walked into the kitchen to see Mrs Weasley making a large pot of tea, Fred was sat at the table, staring vacantly, Ron, Fred and Arthur were all stood around

"Where's Ginny?" Harry asked, trying to make himself feel better for showing some concern for someone

"She went back to bed" George said quietly "And I'm going to go bed as well" and with that George was gone, Harry didn't get a chance to apologise about waking him up, Ron also went off but before he went up he gave Harry a double look just to make sure he was okay, when he was happy, he decided he wasn't going to be much use down here and left so Harry could relax, hopefully. Fred remained where he was, staring vacantly, when Mrs Weasley had made the tea she placed a cup in front of him, Arthur, herself and one for Harry in a spare place, Harry could resist coming over to sit down when Mrs Weasley poured in the boiling water, with three other mugs the smell of mint filled the room and Harry always loved the smell of mint

"Thanks" he quickly ushered when she poured his tea to the top, she didn't bother getting out milk or sugar as she knew this tea helps people sleep and the more you dilute it, the weaker the effect, and she wanted Harry and the others to drop off easily, she knew all of them have had a rough day. Harry held the mug in his hands, warming them up and giving him a sense of relaxation, he took a sip, only a small one, it was still boiling hot, Mrs Weasley done the same and smiled at him, while Mr Weasley took a great, big, gulp and Fred he kept staring at the mug, he pushed it away from him and walked up the stairs, taking each step slowly and painfully

"Harry, what was your nightmare about?" Arthur asked, he'd finished his tea quickly with two more massive gulps, Harry shifted nervously in his seat, he knew that Mr Weasley would ask him about it

"It was nothing" Harry didn't want them all to worry about him

"Harry it's not good to bottle these things up..." Molly said to him, rubbing his arm

"Really I'm fine" He quickly finished his tea and stood up, hoping to try and catch some sleep, Mrs Wealsey got up with him, for a moment Harry thought that she was going to try and stop him, she only grabbed her mug along with Harry's and Arthur's, she took the mugs into the sink, Arthur didn't raise his head so Harry took this as a sign for that it was okay for Harry to leave. Harry left without another word and ran up the stairs to sleep, he walked past Ginny's room to hear gentle snoring coming from her room, and when Harry went past Percy's room he again heard him snoring, 'a Weasley trait' Harry thought to himself, he continued walking up the stairs, he stopped when he reached Fred and George's room, he heard hushed voices

"Fred, what's wrong?" George's voice called, quietly, to his twin

"You wouldn't understand..." Fred said quietly, Harry left quickly and quietly, he felt like he was intruding on something, something private, he reached Ron's room, he opened the door the door and Ron was lying down on the bed, he wasn't snoring but he didn't acknowledge Harry coming in, Harry walked slowly over to the bed, feeling the tea beginning to take effect, he slipped into it, he yawned loudly

"Harry, I hope you can sleep" Ron said quietly, Harry wanted to say something back but he yawned again, Ron laughed at him "Yeah I know mate" Harry took this as a sign for him that it was okay for him to fall asleep.

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Molly Weasley was the first one to raise in the morning, after many years of bringing up boys and one girl, she's learned to get up early, before everyone else, to make sure that no one can commit mischief, which two of her sons were very famous for, she got up from her bed and wrapped a dressing gown around herself, it was so early in the morning, she didn't know which one she'd grabbed, the best way for her to find out if she was wearing her dressing gown was if Arthur was wearing it instead. She smiled at that thought, it had happened more times than either of them cared to admit, the only time she didn't wake up early was Mother's day and her birthday, even though both days were during the school terms, her children decided to pick two days, during the time they were at home, and although those two days changed, they were treated as her unofficial birthday and Mother's day, Arthur also got the same treatment for Father's day and his birthday, when Molly's children came to her and told her about it, she didn't argue, she did enjoy the chance to relax and be took care of. Molly crept down the stairs, moving quietly, hoping to not wake anyone, her room was between Fred and George's and Percy's, so as she walked down the stairs she checked up on Percy and Ginny, when she walked past Percy's room, she didn't hear anything 'Looks like I'm not the first one up' she thought as she walked past, when she walked past Ginny's she heard her gentle snoring, Molly smiled and continued walking down the stairs, she first decided to tidy up the living room, when Harry had his nightmare, she and Arthur were enjoying a cuddle and when he screamed, they both ran up the stairs as fast as they could, but in their haste, they'd knocked both cups of tea which they were enjoying, she walked in and it wasn't bad at all, the thing which worried her the most was the strains on the carpet but enough then she knew she could just magic it away, she took her wand out of her dressing gown, so it was hers, and twirled it in the air, the blanket flew into the air and folded itself and landed gently on the sofa, the mugs were sent into the kitchen sink, she pointed at the stain on the carpet and it slowly disappeared. Molly put away her wand and gave the room a quick glance over the room again to make sure it was tidy, she was satisfied with the way the room was, she turned into the kitchen, ready to make breakfast for everyone, as Molly turned into the kitchen she saw Fred sat there, with his head on the table and bags under his eyes "Fred?" she said quietly, he turned slightly to her

"Hi" he said quietly as well, he turned back away from, Molly was beginning to worry about Fred, yesterday when she went to see if he was okay he wouldn't talk to her at all, he said he was fine and after a while Molly just took that answer, she was glad when that evening he seemed to be in higher spirits and laughing and joking with everyone else, but now Molly wondered if that was just a mask

"Fred, dear what's wrong, I'm getting scared" Molly said, coming over, forgetting about the breakfast, and sitting in front of her son

"Its fine, just need to talk to everyone" Fred said quickly, he gave his mother a smile, trying to make her feel better, and Molly knew better than to push people, so she tried to busy herself with making breakfast. Everything passed in silence while she made the many dishes for her family apart from when Fred broke it with "Don't make anything for me, I'm not hungry" she gave him a quick nod and continued making; bacon, eggs, sausages, toast, beans, tinned tomatoes and a small portion of mushrooms, well she wouldn't need to make those, as they were mainly for Fred, even though he said he wasn't hungry, Molly put a plate full of toast aside for him, in case he changed his mind. Molly Weasley never thought about owning a dinner bell, especially when the smell of food managed to wake everyone up, and down the stairs came Ginny, Percy, George, Ron, Harry and Arthur, and without a word from her they all sat down at the table and started talking, awaiting the food, suddenly Molly's appetite disappeared when she remembered Fred had something important to say to the family, even though Fred never said it was important, but if it made Fred not eat or sleep then it must have been something bad and or important, she didn't say anything to him about it and just started moving the food to the table and then the plates, just as as everyone was preparing to get some food, Fred spoke "Everyone, I have something to say" everyone turned to look at him, putting down whatever they were reaching for, Fred went very pale, Molly land her hand on his and gave it a squeeze

"Take your time dear" she said encouragingly, he gave her a nod and took a deep breath

"I think I'm gay" he said quickly, no one took their eyes off him, and now he knew how it felt for Harry yesterday to tell everyone about him and Cedric

"How long have you felt like this?" Arthur asked, asking everyone's question

"Well I'd say since about the start of the year" Fred said, feeling so anxious

"And how do you know?" Harry asked, trying to be there for Fred as he was the other gay person, or was he bi? Harry didn't really know himself, just that he liked Cedric and maybe it was the same for Fred

"Well I like this guy..." Fred said, he didn't want to really go into details, Harry smiled, trying to be supportive to Fred

"Are we going to meet this 'guy'?" George asked, Molly had begun to plate up food for everyone, including Fred, he looked like he was returning to his old self and everything seemed to be okay

"Hopefully, but I don't know if he feels the same..." Fred said quietly, he was upset at the thought of the other person not returning his feelings, but George jabbed him in the ribs

"Hey! Keep positive, this guy could be thinking the same thing about you!" George gave Fred a smile, which made Fred smile and then Molly and so on and so forth till the whole room was filled with smiles "So who is he Fred?" George asked, Fred turned a shade of red

"I don't really want to say" he said quickly trying to move it away from that, George opened his mouth to pester Fred until he gave up the person's name but Molly gave him a glare and he immediately stopped trying to ask him, and everyone continued to eat and talk, Fred was in a better mood and kept yawning, all the lost sleep, catching up on him, after breakfast, everyone moved to go into the living room, to see what they wanted to do for the day, but Molly stopped Fred as she was loading the plates and pans into the sink

"Fred, get up those stairs and get some sleep, you look as if you haven't slept in a fortnight" she waved him off to the stairs, not expecting him to argue

"I'm fine, really" he said, turning to walk into the living room

"No, Fred. Up. Those. Stairs. Now." Molly angrily said, making her son go up the stairs, he didn't really want to argue with her, so he turned again, up the stairs and walked up them.

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When Fred entered his room, he was so tired he didn't even bother undressing or changing, he slipped under the covers and allowed himself to get relaxed and toasty, he closed his eyes to open them again to reveal he was sleeping inside a forest, he got out from the bed and walked around trying to understand where he was, he turned away from the bed as he heard some water splash. He walked to where he thought the sound came from, he kept looking around him to try and see where he was, he looked to his right to see a faint building 'Hogwarts?' Fred thought, he knew now that he was in the Fobidden Forest and that this was a dream but a dream of a memory, he picked up his pace to find the originator of the splash. He turned to see a pool of water and inside was the man he'd been fantasising about, splashing around in the water, thankfully this was a dream and it had a little extra, well, a little less clothes

"Fred..." The man purred, he stood up in his wet, blue, boxers, they sagged a little, much to Fred's excitement, he stared at the boxers to see a thin trail of hair, leading to his prize, he looked down to see his own clothes removed, apart from his orange boxers, he walked into the warm water and grabbed the man and pushed his tongue down the man's throat, the man moaned into the deep kiss, Fred added to his pleasure by grabbing the man's arse, who moaned more "Oh Fred!" the man shouted, Fred hoisted him into the air, and the man wrapped his legs, tightly around Fred's waist and Fred begun to tug at his underwear

"Oh Alex..."

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Tar Dar! Another pairing! I think you're going to enjoy these guys, alongside Harry and Cedric, these two will the feature of the series. I also feel like I should say this; as I'm following the books, certain things are going to happen and others are going to change, but my point is that certain points where it isn't going to change at all, I'm going to switch to somewhere else whist that thing is happening, I think that makes sense, it'll all make sense, hopefully. Thanks for reading this, hope you have a great day and if anyone knows where 'Let's ride, let's do it!' is from, there's a shiny penny for you!


	9. Chapter 9

_**Hey guys, hope you're having an awesome day! And cheers to skandrajacksonriddle, Momobleach and lean238 for joining this jouney**_

_**Now You're here**_

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"Where's Fred?" Ron asked, his mother had just come in and sat down next to his father on their sofa, the one right in the middle of the room

"I sent him back up to bed, poor dear must have been worrying about it all night" Molly said to Ron who gave her a nod, George was sitting quietly on the floor, with his back to Harry and Ron who was sat on the other sofa, they'd offered George to join but he declined, instead they gave it to Ginny, and Percy was stood up being awkward as ever. The only sound in the whole room was Harry and Ron's quiet talking, and even then it was a little forced, Harry tried to talk to Ginny but she was messing around with her hair, he even tried talking to Percy but that went down as ever

"So what's the plan for today boys?" Both Molly and Ginny gave him a cold look "Er I mean boys and ladies" Ginny smiled at her dad, Arthur asked what his children wanted to do as it was a weekend, it meant Arthur could join them, if they wanted to go somewhere

"I think I want to just stay in my room" Percy said, he'd already begun walking back to the stairs when he spoke

"Well now lame pants is gone what shall we do?" George said, turning to Harry, Ron and Ginny behind him, and smiling to them

"Quidditch?" Ron suggested, Ginny was beginning to grow a taste for it and so she nodded quickly, Harry remained quiet "Harry?"

"Hmm? I think I'm alright thanks" He said looking over to the window where Cedric's note came from, Molly followed his gaze and then looked back to him, and then she laughed quietly to herself

"What's so funny Molly?" Arthur asked, puzzled as to why his wife suddenly burst out laughing

"Harry, I know that look" She said, she reached for her knitting basket which she kept next to her, Harry turned beat red as everyone turned to look at him, Arthur gave him a knowing look while everyone else looked at him, confused, Harry jumped when he heard tapping at the window, everyone turned to look at the window, but Molly was already reaching out, and inside came a black owl and a large envelope, Harry reached for the envelope, thinking it was from Cedric, but when he reached for it and looked at the owl he saw a note attached to its leg, holding a note, Harry had no clue about who the envelope was from let alone how it got here. He decided to look at Cedric's note and maybe send another one back and then send the owl back home and the envelope could wait for now, he walked back into the kitchen with the envelope and Cedric's note, and he sat down at the table and unwound the note

_Harry,_

_Why is the whole bear thing complicated? And yeah you'll be seeing me soon, me and my dad are visiting, due to him working at the department of Magical Animals, he's being coming to get some details from everyone, better him then some hard ass,_

_See you soon_

Harry checked the note again, especially the part about Cedric coming over, he smiled at that part, but he realised he was still in his pyjamas and hadn't had a wash or anything, he didn't think he should bother writing a reply as Cedric was coming over and he felt like he should take extra care inside the shower. He reached for the envelope, gently placing the note from Cedric down on the table, he carefully looked over the note, checking for anything to give away who it is from, it was a plain white thing with nothing special about it, satisfied with the envelope, Harry opened it and pulled out the note written on the inside

_Dear Harry,_

_Hope everything is alright and that Mrs Weasley and the young Weasley lady are as well. I've managed to come across an inn, I forgot I left my bag at their house, which means I left all my clothes and food behind, but I realised this when I was half way to my destination and reached for something to eat. So I went and found this inn, right now I'm sitting in my bed, writing this, well I hope to see you all soon and take care  
_

_Alex_

Harry smiled again, after his dream, he'd worried about Alex, but he didn't have any way to contact him and so he just put it in the back of his mind, with everything happening but knowing he was okay was amazing, and Cedric coming over, Harry didn't know if he could hold inside his excitement, he might just burst with excitement, but right now he needed to go have a shower and get dressed, as he didn't know whether Cedric would be here in one minute or one hour. He ran up the stairs, racing to the bathroom, right now he had a goal to look his best for Cedric, when he ran into the bathroom, something made his heart get bigger, his wash bag was in here, along with the family's, some one had gone to the trouble of taking Harry's stuff and putting it away, Harry loved the sentiment, it was these little things which made Harry love being in the house, it made him feel loved, like he had a family, unlike the Dursleys, sure they never hurt Harry, but they never cared for Harry. All this made Harry think about Alex, knowing he has no one, just like Harry used too, but now he had Harry and maybe the Weasleys. Enough about thinking about everything, Harry jumped into the shower underneath the warm spray, he did a quick wash with his body but when he reached his hair he took more time to wash it, he knew how much Cedric loved to stroke his hair. Once he was done washing his hair he quickly jumped back out and wrapped a towel around his body, he checked his reflection in the mirror to see if anything was wrong, stray hairs, spots, a sigh escaped his lips when he saw nothing was wrong, he also decided that he should get dressed first then come back and brush his teeth, he needed to do his hair first, well as best as his hair will allow him. He pulled open the door and slammed into someone much taller than him, he looked up to see a very tired looking Fred "Fred?" Harry asked, trying to make sure he wasn't a zombie as definitely looked like one

"Hey..." Fred croaked

"Shouldn't you be in bed?" Harry asked, clearly knowing Fred needed more sleep

"Yeah but shouldn't you get dressed?" Fred laughed at Harry, rubbing his hair, he walked more into the bathroom and began to undress, and Harry quickly got out of there before he saw something he shouldn't have. Harry quickly walked upstairs to Ron's room, he didn't want to run as he might have slipped over and hurt himself, and he didn't want to add Cedric's fears about Harry and the gold bear, then it hit Harry, he'd have to tell Cedric about Alex, and Mr and Mrs Weasley would have to tell Mr Diggory about Alex as well. When Harry reached Ron's room he didn't see his trunk anyway and didn't know where it was placed, he wondered if he could borrow some of Ron's clothes till he found out where his clothes were, he pulled open the massive wardrobe and saw his own clothes were on one side of the wardrobe, whoever did this, they were getting a massive hug, Harry promised. He looked inside to see most of his clothes were Dudley's hand-me-downs, apart from a shirt, jacket and some jeans, when had just finished his second year at Hogwarts, he was tired of wearing Dudley's leftovers so he asked if he could have some money to buy some clothes, he asked his Aunt Perunia instead of his Uncle Vernon and he was the more strict and horrible out of the two, though sometimes it seemed like it was neck and neck as to who was the worse person, when he asked her she gave him just five pounds, he asked if he could have more, which ended with him not having any dinner and a very long lecture from Uncle Vernon. He set out the next day into the local shops to see if he could find any clothes, he found a little shop with some cheap clothes inside, he hoped to find a whole outfit, even though it looked like that wouldn't happen he still wanted to try and find one, and he managed to find a set of jeans, he had some back home just these but they were way too big for him, he also found a grey stripy t-shirt and a black jacket, he looked at all of them and saw they it just came to five pounds, he took them to the counter where an old woman smelling heavily of perfume was sat and reading the day's newspaper, when she totted it all up it came to ten pounds, Harry became nervous, there was only one other person in the shop so he didn't worry about embarrassing himself in front of a crowd, the woman asked him for another five pounds, he was confused and asked why another five pounds and she said his dad paid half, she pointed to the man in robes walking out the shop, Harry didn't really like to accept money from strangers but he really wanted these clothes so he took the chance. Harry smiled to himself inside Ron's room, thinking about everything going right for once and slipped on the clothes that actually fitted him.

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"Amos! Good to see you!" Arthur bellowed gripping the ageing man's hand "And Cedric!" Arthur grabbed Cedric's hand and almost tried to pull him into a hug, which Cedric thought was weird as this was the second time he'd met the man, him and his father had just appeared in the bright coloured living room, he asked his mother if she wanted to come as well, but his father cut him off, saying it was purely for business, but already it seemed it wasn't but that didn't bother him, the thought of seeing Harry perked him right up

"Arthur!" Amos gave his own hand shake "And Molly" he said a lot more quieter, Cedric decided to stay a little more away from it all and he hoped to go for a walk while his father and Mr Weasley did their business as because he didn't know if he could keep his hands to himself if Harry was in front of him, it'd been hard going from seeing Harry every single day to not seeing much at all, and he wanted to know everything about this Golden Bear. He turned his head to the kitchen when he heard someone coming down the stairs, he smelled mint and tea, such a weird combination Cedric thought, but he loved it, then Harry appeared in the doorway between the kitchen and the living room, it took everything in his whole body to not rush up and hold Harry tightly

"Hello..." Harry said quietly, he shifted in the doorway, unsure of what to do now

"Harry!" Amos rushed past Cedric, grabbing Harry's hand now, and shaking it violently up and down "Still not sore about that quidditch match are you? Come on meet my son properly! Harry, you must remember Cedric, he was the only other man to beat you!" Amos clasped a hand on his shoulder

"Dad..." Cedric whined, dreading what Harry must have been thinking about all this for a first introduction

"What? It's true!" Amos defended himself

"Harry would you mind getting everyone else dear? They're outside" Molly asked sweetly

"Yeah sure" Harry said quietly, so nervous on being with Cedric's dad

"I'll help you!" Cedric chased after Harry who was already outside "Harry!" Cedric shouted when he left the house, he saw Harry walking quickly to the other side of the garden, where the others must be, he chased after him and grabbed his shoulder "Harry, what's wrong? I'm sorry about my dad he-"

"It's not your dad, he's fine" Harry said quickly, Cedric felt sort of better, glad his father hadn't upset Harry, but Cedric was wondering what actually upsetting Harry

"What's wrong then Harry?" Cedric cooed, Harry had since stopped moving and looked like he was relaxing into Cedric grasp, Cedric was shocked when he felt another pair of lips on his own, it was Harry's! Cedric wrapped his arms around Harry's waist as their kiss deepened, Cedric loved this, knowing he was the only person who could do this to Harry, when they finally broke apart, Harry placed his head on Cedric chest

"I really wanted to kiss you..." Harry said quietly

"Don't worry Harry, I wanted to do the same" Cedric, reached up a hand to tangle it in Harry's hair, enjoying the feeling of those soft locks wrapping around his hands, Harry purred in response, loving the way it felt, they stood there like this, enjoying each other's presence, Cedric felt so much more calmer and content when Harry was around and Harry felt the same with Cedric. They had to break apart but the quick hug and kiss made them feel so much better and Cedric begun to open up more and by the time they reached the others he was smiling and pushing Harry around

"Hey!" Harry shouted when Cedric shoved him, and Harry followed it up with his own shove but his was more aggressive and managed to knock Cedric over who gladly took Harry down with him, everyone turned to see Harry lying on top of Cedric, Ron and George gave them both some wolf whistling, as Harry leapt off Cedric, Cedric whispered into Harry's ear

"I was really hoping they weren't around..." and stood up, throwing Harry to the ground who was bright red, Cedric gave him his hand and practically lifted him up, Cedric did feel a little guilty for standing up so suddenly but if he allowed Harry to stay where he was, who knows what spirits would have been lifted.

"So Harry mate, what's brings you out here with us?" Ron said, what he actually wanted to say was "Harry why aren't you snogging Cedric somewhere else?" but thought it would embarrass his friend so he decided to not say that, yet

"Your mum wanted me to get you guys, she wants us all in the living room, I think its about that bear?" Harry said quickly, trying to inject himself into something else apart from the thought of Cedric ravaging his mouth. George and Ron shrugged and walked inside into the house with Ginny skipping around them, and Harry and Cedric walking behind them, Harry was staring off into the distance, thinking about Alex, and what was going to happen inside, sensing something was wrong with Harry, Cedric grabbed his boyfriend's hand and held it tight till they got to the house and sadly had to let go. When they walked in, Fred and Percy were sitting on a sofa together, Ginny quickly ran in between them, getting herself a seat, Arthur and Molly were on their sofa, sat upright and Amos was on one of the chairs. With Amos being on the chair, that meant there was one more for Harry, Cedric, Ron and George, they all ran to the chair, pushing each other out of the way, Arthur and Molly didn't bat an eye to their rough housing, Amos was searching for a pen in his jacket, after having found the notepad, Percy scoffed at them, Fred was cheering on George while Ginny was cheering on Harry

"George! Watch out of Harry!" Fred shouted to his twin, who managed to spot Harry flailing hand

"Harry! Go for their knees!" Ginny shouted

"Wha-" Harry wanted to see if Ginny was still Ginny after she came out with such a violent response, but he was pushed to the floor by Ron, who was sitting triumphantly in the only other chair, the losers dragged themselves to the floor and sat down with a thump, with George sat in front of Percy, Cedric and Harry were sitting in the space between Ron's chair and the sofa which held Percy. Ginny and Fred, this gave Harry and Cedric the perfect chance to thread a few fingers together

"Now we're all done" Amos started, clicking the pen "So what happened with this bear Molly?"

"Well we'd all gone out for a walk when the boys decided to play hide and seek, me and Ginny didn't feel like playing so we sat down on these rocks, waiting for the boys, when we heard a huge roar, I turned to see the bear stood close, I took out my wand when I saw Ginny stood near the bear, I rushed to her, dropping my wand in the process, I tried to go back for it but the bear cut us off. I screamed for anyone when Fred appeared, he threw a rock at the bear, with it focused on him, I managed to grab my wand and stun it and then freeze it as a sort of make shift ropes" Molly finished, Harry couldn't believe that Molly was covering for Alex and so was everyone else, as no one argued while Mr Diggory jotted this down

"No idea where it came from?" Amos asked Molly

"No, just appeared from nowhere" Molly said

"Hmm, must have been a private breeder, I'll have to check to see if we have any active cases about Golden Bears" Amos finished up his notes "Thanks again Molly"

"Oh no! You made it easier on us, some stranger just walking in, asking question left, right and centre, it wouldn't have been easy for us" Molly smiled at Amos, that part she wasn't lying about. Harry had since tensed up, not enjoying the thought of lying to Cedric, he really didn't want to but what else could he do? Tell him? What if he went off and told everyone or broke up with Harry? Harry was just getting used to this heavenly feeling of being loved

"Harry is everything okay?" Cedric asked, seeing his boyfriend pale up

"Yeah I just need some air" Harry said quickly, walking towards to the door, Cedric followed after him, wanting to make sure he was fine, he kept shouting after Harry who kept walking, wanting to be as far away from the Burrow as he could be, and it sickened Harry a little when he thought that, when they were down the hill which the Burrow sat on top of, Harry sat down and drew his knees up to his chest.

"Harry?" Cedric asked, sitting next to him, he wrapped an arm around Harry "Harry?"

"Cedric, I'm sorry" Harry begun to sob, feeling guilty about lying to Cedric

"Harry? Come on you can talk to me" Cedric gripped him tighter

"I can't, I just can't" Harry said quietly, sniffing loudly, trying to prevent tears from appearing

"Yes you can, come on" Cedric encouraged Harry to speak to him, he knew Harry had something he had to get off his chest

"Cedric..." Harry said quietly

"Trust me" That was all Cedric said as he held Harry and Harry couldn't hold it back

"Fred didn't stop the bear" Harry said finally, he hated this about Cedric, that he felt so safe, that he could let down his walls around Cedric

"Then who did Harry?" Cedric asked, still holding him

"My friend, Alex" Harry said quietly, knowing what was about to come next

"Why are you so upset then? He's a hero!" Cedric said, smiling and rubbing Harry's arm

"He's... He's an Artena" Harry said quietly, hoping Cedric hadn't heard him, but he did, he took his arm away and turned to look Harry directly in his face

"He's a what...?" Cedric asked, shocked at what Harry said

"He's an Artena Cedric, you can't tell anyone!" Harry rushed in

"I have to tell my dad there's a monster running around!" Cedric said loudly

"He's not a monster, he's my friend!" Harry shouted at him

"He's an Artena Harry!" Cedric shouted, his eyes went wide and he grabbed Harry's hands, checking them over "He didn't hurt you, did he?!" Cedric shouted, checking to make sure Harry was okay

"Of course! Cedric quit checking me! Alex is a good person!" Harry shouted at him, slapping his hand "You're judging him based him on what he is!"

"I don't know if you know what an Artena is, but they are dangerous Harry!" Both Harry and Cedric stood up, taking a step away from each other

"Cedric, how can you judge someone without even getting to know them! Do you know how many times people have judge me on 'The boy who lived'?" Harry begun to get really angry with Cedric

"Is that such a bad thing! To be the boy who defeated you-know-who!" Cedric shouted at Harry, Harry had turned on the spot and begun to storm back up to the Burrow "Harry! Wait!" Cedric felt like he'd crossed a line

"No! Oh it's great being me!" Harry shouted back to him

"Harry! I'm sorry!" Cedric shouted, he didn't want to ruin what he had with Harry. Harry just ignored him and stormed back into the house, everyone heard him storm up the stairs and Cedric coming in a few moments later, looking flushed and upset.

"Cedric is everything okay?" Amos asked his son, wondering what the hell happened out there

"Yeah..." He said leaning against the frame of the doorway with his head hanging "Would you mind if I had a glass of water?" Cedric asked Molly, not looking up

"Of course" she said, Cedric walked into the kitchen, looking for what he actually wanted, a piece of paper and pencil, right now Harry didn't want to hear what he wanted to say, but Cedric wanted Harry to know how he felt and so he wrote down a note, folded it in half and wrote on the top of it 'Harry', he finished just in time, his father appeared in the doorway

"Let's be pushing off Cedric, I think your mother will be making us lunch and we do not want to be missing that!" Amos laughed, trying to inject a bit positivity into his son, they both walked into the living room, Arthur had the Floo network already set up for someone to leave, Cedric hoped it would be him first, worried at the Weasley's were going to say "Well Arthur its been great seeing you again and I will be seeing you soon again! And dear Molly, take care!" Amos shook Arthur's hand and gave Molly a hug, he turned to Cedric "You want to go first son?" Amos offered

"Wait Amos, I need Cedric to take me something for Ruth" Molly quickly said, Amos nodded his head and walked into the flames, back home "Now Cedric sit down and tell us what happened out there?" Molly guided him to a seat beside herself, knowing she didn't want to make the situation worse

"We had an argument about that Alex person and then we moved onto Harry and I messed up" Cedric said quietly and quickly, wishing this was a dream

"Oh dear, do you want to stay till you and Harry can sort this out?" Molly offered, with an approving nod from Arthur

"No, I think I'll go home, I'll be fine, could you give him this though?" Cedric handed Molly the note and she gave him a nod, he stood up, getting ready to Floo himself home, but was stopped by a hand on his shoulder, he turned to see the owner of the hand was Ron and he prepared himself for a fist in the face, but he didn't feel anything

"Don't worry mate about Harry, he's tough" Ron said and shook Cedric's hand and then everyone came over and hug Cedric, shaking his hand, and he begun to smile, he wasn't worried about Harry with these guys here looking out for him, Arthur went and sorted out the Floo so he could head straight home, when he was done, he stepped back to be with his family, allowing Cedric to walk to the flames, waving his final goodbyes, he gave a look upwards, thinking of Harry and turned into the flames, also heading home.

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"Stupid Cedric, making me feel like this" Harry said as he brushed away the tears, he'd been sat inside Ron's room by himself for a few hours now, he had heard what seemed like the fireplace being used so he figured Cedric and his dad had left, which did make him feel worse, as he didn't want to just leave this, he wanted to talk and make everything better., but now it seemed like that wasn't going to happen, Harry quickly turned to the wall when he heard someone knock on the door, and then open

"Harry?" Fred asked as he stepped into the room, shutting the door behind him quietly, they were all looking to have dinner now and Harry hadn't come down or anything, sighing, Fred knew that it'd been hard to get Harry to talk to him, so he offered a trade "Harry, you tell me what's wrong and I'll tell you who I like, deal?"

"You're not going to give up, are you?" Harry said, with his back still to Fred

"Nope" Fred took a seat on Ron's bed "So come on, what happened?"

"We argued over Alex, he made a snap judgement on him based and what he was, and I already know how that feels so I got mad, and then he said, 'Is it so bad being the boy who lived?' and I just couldn't look at him and I'm just so mad with him!" Harry nearly shouted, feeling the rage returning

"Hey, keep it cool, here read this, its for you" Fred handed Harry the note and he knew it was Cedric, from his handwriting, he really didn't want to read it but he felt it was the right thing to do, so he unfolded the note and read it

_Harry, I'm sorry for what I said, about you and Alex, please forgive me, but I understand if you don't, I'm not going to tell my dad about Alex either, I'll talk and see you soon hopefully_

Harry just smiled at the note, he still felt mad with Cedric but he smiled at the note, obviously they'd have to sit and talk about it, but this was a step in the right direction for them, Harry heard tapping at the window, he ran over to Ron paper and quill and begun to write his own note to Cedric

_Cedric, I hope we can talk about this all and even though you were a massive butt head, I still really care about you, hope to see you soon_

Harry rolled up the note and opened the window and a snowy white owl came flying in

"Hedwig!" Harry shouted to the bird who hooted in response, when he come back to the Weasley's he'd found out they let her off to hunt and she'd been gone for a few days but that didn't worry Harry as she did this when she went to hunt "Hedwig, do you think you could take this to Cedric?" Harry asked, she's never been to his home but owls had a certain knack for finding people, she hooted in response, Harry tied the note to her leg and she flew out the window, he watched her disappear and then turned to Fred "Come on Fred, spill the beans!"


	10. Chapter 10

_**Hey guys! Hope you're all doing good, next chapter is going to be the World Cup! And then most likely we'll be heading back to Hogwarts, and the Tri-Wizard toruement, so sit back and enjoy the ride, and as for new passengers we have Mori84, nevtanis and tbell68.**_

_**Happy Birthday!**_

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"Come on Fred! Tell me who you like!" Harry said as he jumped next to the redhead on the bed

"Ah, not just yet, we've got to go down for dinner" Fred said as he rose from the bed

"Aw, Fred! You promised!" Harry whined as he got up from the bed as well

"Yeah and I will follow through with my promise, but right now I'm starving!" Fred smiled to Harry and walked to the door, with Harry following behind him. They walked down the stairs, with Fred leading Harry down them, but once they reached Fred and George's room the smell of Mrs Weasley's food led them both down the stairs. When Fred appeared at the bottom of the stairs, Mrs Weasley looked up, her eyes worried that Fred had come down along but they brightend up when Harry appeared as well

"Harry!" Mrs Weasley shouted when he appeared, she led him to his chair and placed a plate in front of him, Fred smiled and walked into the living room where George and Ron were play fighting on the floor in the middle of the room, Ginny was sitting with Mr Weasley, she was sitting where usually Mrs Wealsey sat, they were both talking and laughing, Percy was sat in a chair, the furthest one away from everyone, he was staring out the window

"Dinner" Fred said to the whole room, which was met with thundering feet, when Ron reached the door, he saw Harry sat next to his mum, he smiled at his friend who smiled back, he was then pushed into the kitchen by George who laughed at him, George walked to a seat at the table, waving to Harry when he sat down, Ginny and Arthur followed suit but Percy just ignored him, Ron took a seat next to Harry, Molly and Arthur were at the top and bottom of the table, Ginny, Percy and George were sat on one side and Harry, Ron and Fred on the other side. Dinner passed with a pleasant buzz, people laughing and joking, even Percy joined in at one point, somehow having these people in Harry's life, managed to make him smile and happy, no matter what had happened, they always managed to make him smile or cheer up.

"Oh!" Ron shouted when his drink fell over and spilled all down Harry

"Harry, run upstairs and clean yourself up" Arthur said he was going around picking up the plates, Molly and Ron were dabbing away at the drink on the table and the droplets on the floor

"Okay" Harry got up, hoping to not drip anywhere else, when he disappeared up the stairs, Arthur crept to the base of the stairs, when Harry disappeared into the bathroom, he quickly turned to Molly and everyone

"How we doing guys for Harry's birthday?" Arthur asked quietly, just in case Harry could still hear him from up stairs

"Earlier I managed to get a hold of Cedric, I tried to find Alex but I didn't know where to send the owl" Molly said to the group, she then turned to Ron "Ron do you have any way of getting a invitation to him?"

"I don't think so mum, the party isn't for a few days so maybe Harry could tell us?"

"How do we do that without letting him catching on to the party?" Fred said

"You leave that too me" Ron said smiling confidently

"Ginny?" Arthur asked his daughter

"I've talked to Hermione but she's on holiday with her family but she did send a present to give him" She said sweetly

"Okay you guys write a list about who's coming and we'll go from there" Arthur, as Molly reached for the pencil and paper on the counter, they all heard the bathroom door open, and followed by some footsteps, Molly quickly hid the pen and paper under the table and everyone tried to act like nothing was going on, when Harry walked into the room, he felt like the room had changed, like people had been arguing but he didn't really mind, Percy, George and Fred were always arguing so it'd become the norm in the house, he remained at the bottom of the stairs he yawned loudly

"Hey I hope no one minds but I'm really tired..." He said, he yawned again, arguing with Cedric and then being mad at Cedric, had really drained Harry and he needed to go to bed

"No of course not dear, it's been a long day for all of us" Molly said, she walked over and gave him a hug and whisked him up the stairs

"I'll be up soon mate, need to catch up on my sleep!" Ron shouted up after Harry

"You can't really be tried, you haven't done anything all day!" George whined at Ron, when they played Quidditch George went and fetched the brooms and when he asked Ron to collect the make-shift quaffle from the front garden, Ron said he was keeping an eye out for muggles, when the village was quick a distance away and they were playing on the side of the house which faced away from the village

"Putting up with you makes me tried, plus if I catch him now, I try and get how to talk to Alex outta him, night!" Ron quickly ran up the stairs, trying to avoid the argument which certainly would be headed his way

"Okay guys let's get this party all sorted" Arthur said and everyone gathered into the living room, to get more comfortable and sending off invitations

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Harry had just changed into some pyjamas when Ron burst into his room, yawning loudly and falling onto his bed "Boy I'm tired!" he shouted, half for show and half for actually being tired

"What did you actually do today?" Harry asked, he hadn't seen his friend for most of the day

"Played some Quidditch mainly..." Ron went quiet and turned to on his side, facing away from Harry "But I also begun to think about Alex..." Ron said, Harry sat up from the foldable bed he slept on when he visited the Weasley's

"Why?" Harry asked, confused

"Still feeling guilty about the whole thing about him being an Artena..." Ron said quietly

"Ron, what exactly is an Artena?" Harry said

"Its... Its hard to say" Ron said, also sitting up "But they're mainly from fairy-tails, beings of mystical powers, but no one knows for sure"

"But why is it everyone's scared of them?" Harry asked

"Well the Fairy-tales they're in, are mainly filled with war" Ron said, quickly and quietly

"Oh..." Harry said, it didn't change that he liked hanging out with Alex but it made Harry worry about what everyone else would say, Harry wanted Cedric to meet Alex, but Harry wondered if that would be ever able to happen

"But I want to talk to Alex, you know send him a sort of a proper letter" Ron said, turning to his friend

"Well he sent me a letter, and it said he was in a inn, but I don't know where he'd be now, if he sends me another one, I let you know, okay?"

"Yeah, that'd be great, thanks Harry" Ron smiled to Harry, and Harry yawned loudly which made Ron laugh "I'm tired too, come on, let's get some sleep" Harry didn't argue with his friend, loving the idea of sleep, he laid down on the bed and quickly fell asleep.

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The next morning Mrs Weasley was distracted, well at least that's what Harry thought, when he whispered it to George, but he disagreed with him straight away and begun to talk to Ginny who was across the table from him, Harry shrugged his shoulders and continued to eat his toast, but he stopped when he saw a very familiar letter, tapping at the kitchen window, Molly jumped at the tapping but quickly opened the window, the letter flew straight to Harry and landed in front of him, he open the letter and pulled out the note

_Harry,_

_I'm moved to a town, I tried to go further but I left my bag at the Burrow, so I'm trying to find some supplies, I think I'm going to be here for a while, speak soon,_

_Alex_

Harry looked at the note and remembered that Ron wanted to send Alex a note, to further apologise "Ron?" Harry said into the living room, he'd left to go into there after breakfast just as Fred, Mr Weasley, Percy and Ginny did as well, which Harry thought was weird as usually they stayed until everyone had finished their breakfast and went into the living room together, everyone seemed to acting weird, not just Mrs Weasley, but Harry didn't really think much about it, he was taken from his thoughts when Ron appeared at the doorway, covering most of it up of the view into the living room

"Yeah?" he smiled at Harry but looked over his shoulder

"You wanted to send Alex a note? I got another one, I'm not sure if you can track it or whatever" Harry handed the empty letter

"I can send him back a note, when the note has been taken out, the empty will fly back to the sender unless its been crushed" Ron pulled a crumpled note from inside his pocket and thrust it inside, he ran over to the window, opened it and held his wand to the letter, which took flight and left the kitchen, Ron walked back into the living room, Harry tried to go into there, but Mrs Weasley shouted

"Harry, dear, could you give me a hand in the garden?"

"Uh okay" he said, giving another glance to the living room, wondering what the hell was going on

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The next few days, Harry grew more and more suspicious of the Weasley's, people whispering, Harry being given chores, he didn't mind, and plus it was with someone so he wasn't lonely, but still, the Weasley's never liked to give Harry chores, after finding out what the Dursleys made Harry do, every time he come 'home'. When Harry thought about confronting everyone over his suspicions, some how everyone caught on, the whispering stopped and no one asked for Harry's help with chores, whatever was going on, it must be over, he thought to himself when he went to bed, the next morning he woke up to the smell of burning, he snapped his eyes open and checked to see if Ron was okay, fearing his dream had come true, when he didn't see the reassuring red hair, he quickly got up out of bed, reached for his glasses, put them on and begun to creep down the stairs, he didn't anyone and he begun to get really worried, he called out to anyone "Hello?" but he was met with no response, he decided to be brave and finish his journey down the stairs, when he turned to face the kitchen a group of people were stood in front of the table

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" The Weasley's shouted in a chorus, Harry jumped back, expecting his dream to happen again, his eyes were drawn to the pile of presents and a large stack of pancakes, covered in syrup and butter, everyone was fully dressed, apart from Harry, and were wearing party hats, a banner was hung above their heads which read in huge red letters 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY HARRY!' a slow image of a snitch was flying around the letters which also occasionally hissed and tiny fireworks appeared, everyone come charging over to Harry, shaking his hand and wishing him well, Ginny gave him a kiss on the cheek, which made her go bright red, Molly came over and gave him a hug, Arthur patted him on the shoulder, as did Fred and George, Percy shook his hand and took a step back, even though they hardly talked or spent time together, he seemed to be genuine about wishing Harry well, Ron stayed away from him, with a grin on his face, Harry gave him a weird look, but he was dragged over to where usually Arthur sat at the table, the stack of pancakes was pushed to him, Molly and Arthur both took the presents into the other room, to make room for everyone else to sit and eat, Ron handed Harry a party hat, who put it on straight away, even though it was his fifteenth birthday, he wanted to goof up a little, birthday passed in a flash, everyone had left to go into the other room, but Harry was sat finishing his huge stack of pancakes, Ron was sat with him, still wearing that cheesy grin, finally Harry caved and asked him

"Ron, why are you grinning so much?" he said, shovelling in half a pancake, he wanted to hurry up, he felt like he was being rude for sitting in here

"Oh don't worry, you'll found out" Ron said, when Harry put in the other half of the pancake, Ron picked up his plate and put it into the sink, when Harry got up, Ron slowed him down and put his hands over Harry's eyes, Harry huffed but figured Ron had a reason so he walked forward, trusting Ron to not walk him into anything, "Okay and stop" Ron said, Harry stopped moving and waited for Ron to remove his hands, when Ron did remove his hands Harry looked to see his pile of presents seated on the floor, everyone was sitting patiently in the chairs and sofas, Ron stepped over to sit in front of Fred, who shared the sofa with George and Ginny, Mr Weasley and Mrs Weasley were in their usual spot and Percy once again was sat in a chair on his own, Harry's sight was once again blocked by someone's hands

"Hello?" Harry asked

"Hey Birthday boy" a familiar voice said, they removed their hands and Harry turned to see Cedric

"Cedric!" Harry leapt at him and hugged him, Cedric laughed and hugged him back "When did you get here?"

"Earlier this morning, come on, you've got some presents to open!" Cedric led Harry to his pile of presents, Cedric sat down first, Harry was still so over the moon to see Cedric that Cedric had to pull Harry down to open his presents, he put Harry between his legs and pulled him close, which made Harry go bright red, and everyone laughed but no one said anything, and allowed Harry to open his presents, he didn't know where to begin, it all seemed so much for just him, he was expecting to wake up and be back with the Dursleys, but he was here, surrounded by friends and an awesome boyfriend, he reached for the nearest present which was a long, thin present, wrapped in golden paper, he looked at the tag and saw 'To Harry, from Hermione xx', he pulled off the paper to reveal a Quidditch bag, in leather, red, he stared at it, he couldn't believe it, it looked so beautiful that it seemed very fitting that Hermione brought him it, he knew she was on holiday and would have to pester her for an eternity, Cedric rubbed his hair and whispered

"Come on, you've got loads left to open"

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"You dressed yet Harry?" Mrs Weasley shouted up the stairs, everyone had gone off to do their special jobs for the day, Harry thought they were going to sit in the garden but Cedric had asked if he could take Harry for a picnic for lunch, he'd spent so long opening his presents and thanking everyone that it was nearing one in the afternoon, which meant everything was running a little behind schedule, so Mrs Weasley was glad for the chance to get Harry away from the house, she'd packed a light lunch as she thought Harry would still be full after breakfast, and she handed the basket to Cedric who was sitting on the sofa

"Yeah! Coming!" Harry shouted back down to her and came running down the stairs which made Cedric stand up "Where's everyone else?" Harry asked as he reached the bottom of the stairs

"I thought we could go for a picnic" Cedric said, he took Harry's hand and begun to rub in small circles on the back of his hand, in order to convince him out the door, Mrs Wealsey smiled and went into the back garden to help everyone else

"But-" Harry looked to the back door where Mrs Weasley was headed

"Come on birthday boy" Cedric pulled Harry through the door, and didn't stop moving, he wasn't met with any resistance so he took it as a sign to loosen his grip on Harry's hand. They continued walking, Cedric didn't say anything, moving to where ever he wanted to go, Harry was sort of glad that he didn't say anything, the last time they spoke or saw each other didn't go amazing and they had their first argument, Harry looked at his boyfriend and wondered about everything, his brain had an awesome talent for doing that, he wondered if they'd break up, when, where, who broke up with who? "Stop" Cedric said quickly

"What?" Harry wondered if another Golden Bear had appeared and begun to panic

"I know that look, its the over-thinking look" Harry looked down at the ground, they continued walking but Harry was walking at a slower pace, and Cedric continued "You're thinking about last time we saw each other?" Harry winced "Yeah, I thought so, come on, sit down, we'll talk" Cedric picked a patch of grass which was surrounded with bright green grass, the sun shone down on they, but they was a nearby tree which shielded them from the bulk of its rays, he placed the basket he was carrying, on the ground and pulled out a white sheet and laid it carefully onto the grass, he picked up the basket again and sat down on the sheet, pointing to the spot opposite him, for Harry to sit down, when Harry sat down, he closed himself up, physically and emotionally "I've thought about Alex, just hear me out, when you first said he was an Artena, I was worried and scared for you, but I thought, I don't even know him or anything, how can I make a judgement on him, and I hope I can meet him one day and make a judgement on him then" Harry relaxed a little, but Cedric held up his hand, signalling he was going to continue, he also leaned closer to Harry "And Harry, I very sorry for what I said, about you, about being the boy-who-lived, I really am sorry" Cedric sat back to where he was and waited for Harry to say or do anything, Harry had gone quiet, but he reached for Cedric's hand and rubbed it in a similar fashion as Cedric did when they first left the house, he looked to Cedric and whispered

"Its okay" Cedric and Harry both smiled, Cedric laid down, with his back leaning against the tree, he grabbed Harry's shoulder and pulled him to lean onto his chest, once Harry did, he raked his hands though Harry's hair, who was rubbing his hand on Cedric's chest, there wasn't anything sexual about it, just two people, being close to each other, when they settled and Harry thought he'd fall asleep in heaven, Cedric's stomach grumbled loudly, they both laughed and Harry reached for the basket, which had some sandwiches in it, most of they space was taken up by the sheet they were lying on it seemed, Cedric sat up which earned him a whine from Harry, and they sat there, enjoying to sun and peace, but most of all, each other

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The was looking to begin it's descent when Cedric and Harry begun to walk back, when they arrived back at the Burrow, it was about dinnertime, Harry walked through first, shouting into the home "We're back!" but he was met with no call back, instead silence, even after a few days after the dream, Harry still had the feeling that it was going to happen, Harry froze in his spot, allowing Cedric to walk ahead of him, who wasn't thinking anything bad of the silence of the house, they heard a clatter outside, something like the smashing of plates, making Harry jump to Cedric's side, holding him close

"What?" Cedric said to the cowering figure

"What was that?" Harry said quickly, squeezing Cedric more so

"I don't know, let's go have a look" Cedric begun to walk to the back door, dragging Harry along with him, who wasn't happy about this, not one bit

"Cedric, don't!" Harry barked, but he ignored him and pulled open the back door

"SURPRISE!" a huge chorus of people shouted, Harry rubbed his eyes to check he wasn't seeing things; a large circular wooden table was outside, with many different foods on it, some savoury and some sweet, around the table was the Weasleys, even Bill and Charlie, then there were three empty extra spots, saying Harry was over the moon, was an understatement, he was so shocked, Cedric had to lead him to the table and sit him down across from him was Ron, who wished him a happy birthday, everyone looked smart but not in suits and such but still looked quite casual, Ron was again wearing that grin and he nearly exploded when he heard flames, bursting into his living room, Harry turned his head to see Alex stood there, holding a small package and his hair combed to one side

"Alex!" Harry got up and ran to his friend

"Hey, happy birthday, here" Alex handed over the present, Harry thanked him for it and lead him over to the table, to sit down next to him, Cedric didn't say anything and his face didn't say much either, he just sat there, but Harry hadn't noticed with Alex next to him, wearing a smart, black shirt and matching black jeans, Harry then proceeded to look down, seeing himself and Cedric weren't dressed smartly at all, he then begun to feel self concious

"Harry dear, don't worry, we all wanted to just dress up a little" Mrs Weasley said, squashing his fears "Go on, open your present" Harry ripped away the paper to reveal a book, its front cover was made up from leather and it looked newish, he looked at the name of the book 'Pills and Potions'

"Thank you Alex" Harry smiled

"I didn't know what exactly to get you, so I thought a book would do, sorry"

"Nonsense, its great" Harry begun to pile some food up on his plate, Ron already begun before anyone else, he didn't really know what he piled on his plate, he just reached for anything, knowing Mrs Weasley's food was always amazing. Dinner passed too quickly for Harry's taste, and everyone piled into the living room, all apart from Ginny, she was yawning loudly, which made Mr Weasley tell her to go to bed, she ran over and gave Harry a hug and wished him happy birthday, she then ran up the stairs, Percy soon followed after her, Harry didn't expect him to stay long and wasn't surprised when he left quietly, which left, him, Ron, Fred, George, Charlie, Bill, Mr Weasley, Mrs Weasley, Cedric and Alex in the living room, they were all dotted around the room, Alex yawned loudly as well, and checked his watch

"I think I should be going too" He said, looking over to the fireplace, but he was stopped by Mrs Weasley

"No, the night is still young! And anyway, spend the night!" Mrs Weasley walked over to Alex who was arguing to leave, giving Harry a chance to ask Cedric

"Cedric? Are you spending the night?" Harry looked up with wide eyes

"Sorry, I can't, I'm busy" Harry pouted and Cedric stroked his hair

"Alright, alright, I'll stay the night" Alex said, finally giving in to Mrs Weasley, she walked back over to Mr Wealsey, and everyone again, begun to laugh and talk, Mr Wealsey brought in some butter beer, he first handed one to Harry and then one to everyone, it wasn't alcoholic but it was Harry's first 'beer', soon people begun to yawn and walk upstairs into bed, Mrs Weasley was going to head up when she remembered that Alex was staying the night too, she quickly ran to the cupboard near Ginny's room and pulled out a blanket and pillow, she handed it to Alex and he begun to set up his bed on the sofa, Harry piped up before she left

"Can I sleep down here, with Alex?" Harry asked, he didn't want to leave his nervous friend by himself and plus he knew someone else would be in with Ron and him, Mrs Weasley didn't say anything, she walked back up the stairs and fetched another pillow and blanket, she then handed it to Harry as well and then went up to bed, all that were left was Alex, Harry and Cedric, Cedric was stood by the fireplace, he had set up the fireplace to leave, but he wanted to give Harry one last kiss

"Happy birthday" Cedric said just before he smashed his lips to Harry's, he didn't care that Alex was also there, just that he wasn't embracing Harry, he broke away from Harry and stepped into the fire, going home, Harry was still on a high, he sat down on the sofa which was due to be his bed and stared at the fire place with a big grin on his face, Alex laughed, which made Harry laugh, they quickly and quietly got ready for bed and soon went to sleep.


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